I've seen this creepy plot before

Rating: 4/10 (4 July 2005)

Put succinctly, The Machinist isn't worth your time. You can see plenty of other creepy noir thrillers where the plot is about blocked memories (try 'Memento' or 'Fight Club', both much, much better). But why bother? The plot is more predictable than the writer would like you to think; judging from the documentary included in my DVD, he is just warming up to his subject matter, so let's not encourage him. But one critical reason to NOT see this film is to see Hollywood's new anorexia poster boy, Christian Bale, a man who truly takes Method Acting to a new low: 119 pounds. Thank God he has had a good run in 'Batman Begins', otherwise Bale would have this and 'American Psycho' to frame his career. What a shame. Good news: The photography is quite wonderful and the direction is good too. But a movie is more than pretty pictures and actors pacing their lines.