"That's a nice-a donut."
Sunday, June 19, 2005
The Machinist
In director Brad Anderson's dark film The Machinist, Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is a blue collar worker who has not slept in a year. This isn't just a case of a poor night's rest where you feel lethargic the rest of the day and might not have a very fun day - this is an entire year. Trevor is beginning to doubt his own sanity. The movie opens with him tossing a body into the sea. Is it just a dream? Or does he have something to hide? Soon he begins finding cryptic messages in his apartment featuring a game of hangman, and a coworker gets hurt because Trevor was distracted by a strange man who has been following him. Is he seeing things? Or is it really everyone else in his life - including his jerk supervisor at work - who are the crazy ones? The only places he finds comfort are with his prostitute/sort-of-a-girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who he regularly sees, and at a diner with a waitress who seems to remind him of his mother.
Anderson, whose last directorial effort was the very good spookfest Session 9, again develops a strong sense of atmosphere and tension (not to mention confusion) in The Machinist. You never know what is going to happen next: will he continue the plodding story or will the growing unease boil over and come to the forefront. The movie may not have any big budget action sequences or CGI razzle-dazzle, but the intriguing story should keep your attention throughout. One common complaint that I recall reading about the film upon its theatrical release was that Bale's extreme weight loss is a distraction and that there isn't much else to the film. As to the second point your mileage may vary, but I really didn't find the weight issue to be anything other than an important factor in showing the insomnia. Bale inhabits his role with more than just his physical transformation, but reveals an inner turmoil that is wrenching and fascinating at the same time. In fact, most all of the actors in the movie are just right for their parts.
One way the movie could have been improved is by explicitly showing more of Trevor's sleeplessness. Though plenty of shots are shown (he is about to nod off but is startled by a noise, or he cleans the kitchen floor with a toothbrush in the middle of the night) that hint at his chronic insomnia, very few actually show him in bed trying to fall asleep. The viewer is left wondering if he actually wants to break his curse since he doesn't seem to be trying very hard. I appreciated that a movie with a rather complex story didn't seem to have any glaring plot holes or contrivances. Yet, while the ending is solid and fairly thrilling, it feels like a letdown given such a build up. I wanted to like this film a lot more than I did. This is a good movie that may be enhanced with repeated viewing, but I was ultimately left feeling unfulfilled.
The Verdict: B.
Michael Bentley 7:29 AM
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