A gamble that pays off

Rating: 8/10 (22 October 2012)

Trevor(Bale, giving an incredible performance, and showing true dedication to the craft by losing an unhealthy amount of weight), the titular machinist, hasn't slept for a year. Strange things start happening - at home(Post-It notes on the fridge inviting to a game of Hangman... who made them, and how?) and at work(what's with the new guy...?), and he tries to figure out what is going on, becoming increasingly determined to learn the truth. This is a taut, Hitchcockian psychological thriller(in part due to the Bernard Hermann-like score), with elements from Kafka(persecution, no one to turn to) and Lynch(seriously strange, haunting occurrences), as well. I did not care much for director Anderson's earlier effort Session 9(the only other thing by him I've watched), but his gutsy move to make this unrelentingly, overwhelmingly bleak in mood throughout(with no exception... they really took a chance, and you can see why Hollywood wouldn't produce it; and because of that, they painstakingly had to make Barcelona look like LA!) is uncommon, and it works perfectly for the film. This atmosphere genuinely evokes the feeling of insomnia, with gradual progression and pace(every so often erupting in high tension), not to mention that scene changes are sudden, like being woken from dozing off for too short a time. The plot is well-crafted, building to the satisfying and smart twist-ending, dropping clues and not pushing it with red herrings. All of the acting is solid. There is a lot of disturbing content, a moderate amount of strong language and a little sexuality, nudity and bloody, brutal violence in this. I recommend this to any fan of suspense and movies that keep them guessing - and thinking. 8/10