Lean, Mean Thriller Machine

Rating: 6/10 (8 February 2006)

With the Machinist, director Brad Anderson has created a love sonnet to Hitchcock. If the fact that it has Christian Bale in it rather than Jimmy Stewart throws you off the scent, all you have to do is listen to the music. The soundtrack to the Machinist sounds like Bernard Herman's greatest hits. This purposeful tip of the hat to Hitchcock, and Christian Bale's impressive portrayal of a man who is slowly losing his mind make the Machinist worth watching, despite the fact that it boasts one of my least favorite twist endings.
Bale plays a tortured man who hasn't been able to sleep for a year. The cause of his insomnia is unknown, but it's taking a toll on his health. To say that he's lost a lot of weight is an understatement. Bale is positively skeletal in this movie. As he struggles to maintain his sanity and keep his job at the machine shop, Bale tries desperately to understand why he can't sleep.
Things take a turn for the worst when Bale meets the new guy at work. He's a bald-headed, leering man who lost his hand in some kind of unfortunate circumstance, and now has two of his two sewed on his hand in place of fingers. This guy has a weird way of showing up just when something bad is going to happen, and pretty soon Bale thinks that Baldy has got it in for him. If you've seen SECRET WINDOW, HAUTE TENSION or even HIDE AND SEEK, the big twist of this movie will come as no surprise. Typically, I think this revelation is overused and cheap, which is why I didn't give this movie a higher rating, but at least the Machinist is done with some style.
Taking into account the undeniable Hitchcock style that Brad Anderson gave this movie, and the remarkable acting from everyone involved, especially Christian Bale, I would recommend this movie to horror fans who are interested in thrillers that move a little slower but are thick with atmosphere. The ending is a bit of a letdown, but as with HAUTE TENSION, the telling of the tale justifies at least one viewing.