A murky psychological thriller with depth.

Rating: Null/10 (31 December 2007)

The Machinist is a film that references the big-budget Hollywood of Fight Club and the more low-key surrealism of David Lynch... managing to fashion a story that seems to make sense, whilst simultaneously, taking us through numerous bizarre twists and turns. As a thriller in the psychological sense the film is great, and more that stands up to repeated viewing; allowing us, as an audience, to go back and re-discover some of the images and subtle clues woven into the labyrinthine-like script, even once we're familiar with the ending.
Right from the start we know that our protagonist Trevor is somewhat unhinged, and we can tell from the bleak cinematography (offering us a depiction of black and white in colour) and the grimy, minimalist production design, that this isn't going to be the kind of film that leaves us with a sweet, sugar-coated climax. Instead, the film is darkly intriguing and surprisingly intelligent, what with it's references to Kafka, Lynch, and allusions to Dostoevsky, in fact, even more surprising given the fact that scriptwriter Scott Kosar was also responsible for the recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Amityville Horror remakes!! Perhaps the greatness of this film has something to with director Brad Anderson...? Though, to be honest, I'm unfamiliar with his previous work; the overall handling of the mood, style and pacing of this film is exceptional though, with the story presenting the audience with a serious of hints and clues to the enigma at it's heart, without ever feeling the need to beat us over the head with over-blown symbolism or trite hand-holding.
There are some astounding images in the film too, not least the sight of Christian Bale, hunched and emaciated beyond recognition, left cowering and crying in the corner of his apartment towards the end of the final act... but also, a terrifying trip through a fairground's haunted roller-coaster, a man with a badly mangled hand, and a refrigerator that constantly drips blood. As effective as both the script and direction are, the film is really carried by Bale, who here gives a tremendous performance only hinted at in his previous work (well... specifically, American Psycho), taking the method to extreme ends to portray the insomniac machine-worker, trying to make sense of a world in which everyone's a possible fiend.
There's strong support from Jennifer-Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Michael Ironside, Craig Stevenson, Anna Massey and the sinister John Sharian, who offer help, or persecution (depending on how you look at it), whilst simultaneously adding to the wavering atmosphere of dread and unease so perfectly created by the director. The film definitely works as both a dreamlike mystery and a surreal thriller (with hints of straight-drama, moments of industrial horror and metaphorical existentialism all thrown in too) and certainly rewards repeated viewings for those wanting to revisit the major narrative turning points littered throughout the script. Though it should be said that those looking for light-entertainment might find the continually dark locations and sinister characters slightly off-putting, those with a fondness for filmmakers like Lynch, Polanski and David Fincher, will certainly appreciate the film's bleak themes and dark sense of irony.