A multi-layered and dark character study !!!

Rating: 9/10 (7 May 2015)

When you start watching "The Machinist", two things strike you instantly. The cinematography which is almost black and white which gives off a very intimidating and grimly dark look to the film. The other most obvious thing that will strike you is Christian Bale's physique or should I say the lack of it. He looks scrawny and almost scarily anorexic. He really became the character of Trevor Reznik in the film and this is a brilliant example of method acting of the ultimate level.
The Machinist as a film depends largely on the eerie atmosphere that surrounds the film. From the first scene to the last, there is a consistent sense of dread and almost a despondent hopelessness that permeate from the screen. The film can be called a psychological thriller and also a horror film, but at the heart of it is an emotional character study, although for most of the film the viewer might feel lost and not find it too emotional. The film is brilliantly directed with a great style of storytelling. The director opts for a lot of reticence during the film, which might leave the viewer a bit perplexed about the goings-on in the film at times, but it always keeps the mystery alive. There is a lot of great visual imagery. The screenplay consciously makes an attempt to distort the distinctions between reality and dream sequences in the film. Hence the editing technique of certain scenes going by abruptly without a proper resolution actually makes sense and helps to accentuate the themes of the storyline. As soon as the film started getting weirder and weirder, the name Dostyovsky did come across my mind and my instincts about some Dostyovsky influence were vindicated by the scene where we see Trevor reading the "The Idiot" written by Dostyovsky. There are also some Satanic and hell-related symbolism in the film. Right in the first scene we see the reflection of three towers on Trevor's face and these towers closely resemble the pitchfork seen in many imagined images of the Devil. In a scene where Trevor goes on a ride in the amusement park with a boy named Nicholas, there comes a point where they have to choose between one way which might lead them to "Salvation" and the other which will lead them to "Hell" and that scene is extremely expressive and tells us a lot about what choices Trevor might have made earlier in his life.
The director does a great job of keeping the narrative extremely interesting. Christian Bale as I have already mentioned is fantastic, not only does he physically become the character, but he also uses some very impressive acting choices for this character which range from the subtle and understated to the dramatically loud.
Although I wasn't really shocked by the denouement at the end as I sort of saw it coming but I still remained extremely interested in the plight of this strange man. Viewers can find some similarities with other films like Fight Club and Memento which are there in plenty. So you can question the film's originality, but I don't think you can question its overall quality and the director's ability to grab your attention and not let go of it.