The Machinist runs on cinematic greatness!

Rating: 10/10 (29 October 2005)

"The Machinist" is such a grandiose motor of a film that it has geared its way to film supremacy. This is the most unique and one of the best films of the year. Let me first give you the "skinny" on its protagonist, Christian Bale. Mr. Batman Begins himself was no Fatman Begins here. Bale lost 60 lbs. to play the part of Trevor Reznik, an industrial worker who has a severe case of insomnia due to not sleeping over a year because of a life-altering event. I will not get into the specifics of the event because that would be a major blunder to this review. Reznik is paranoid & lonely but at the same time has in-depth knowledge & intuition. The thin man Trevor befriends a co-worker named Ivan, who is non-existent to his other colleagues. Is Ivan the Great providing sound guidance to Trevor or is Ivan the Terrible playing psychological mind-games to Trevor? Reznik has two main women in his lives who he sporadically sees: his call girl girlfriend and and airport diner waitress. These fems see the melancholy in Trevor, but they also see the humanity. They both play significant parts in Trevor's unyielding complexities. In fact, I wonder if they see anything at all in Trevor since he is almost physically transparent. Director Brad Anderson's archetypal construction and ingenious design of "The Machinist" has enough fuel to be classified as one of the best directorial efforts of 2004. Oscar voters' mechanisms needed a tune-up when they snubbed Anderson from a Best Director nomination. The acting of "The Machinist" was also a well-constructed acting machine. Bale most definitively was the spark plug of the film with his daring and compelling performance. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon were competent maquinitas as the women in Trevor's life. John Sharian was mesmerizing as the overbearing Ivan."The Machinist" has enough credible cinematic groundbreaking qualities to make this well-tuned machine into a cult classic in the film industry! Gear up to "The Machinist" asap. ***** Excellent