Chillingly effective psychological thriller

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2007)

The Machinist
Anyone, upon the sight of a near anorexic Christian Bale displayed proudly across the poster or trailer for The Machinist, must have had their curiosity piqued to a certain degree. How and why, the questions lingered, could the soon to be star of Batman Begins have lost such a large quantity of weight, and how does that figure into the plot of the film? And while the spectre of Bale is indeed a prominent point of interest for the film, by no means is the novelty of such an skeletal leading man the only appealing feature of The Machinist - instead, it only serves to compliment and add to the masterful construction of a truly classy and nerve wracking psychological thriller.
Director Brad Anderson proves himself a master at effectively creating tension and atmosphere in a fashion which has become exceedingly rare in this day and age where increasingly formulaic CGI creatures, inane amounts of gore, and beautiful young women shrieking have become the standard for 'frightening' in the average Hollywood thriller. The Machinist is all the more effective by staying firmly grounded in reality, but still managing to extract many a quiver simply due to its exquisitely bleak atmosphere. Anderson's use of lighting is one of the single most effective instances of a modern film in recent memory - shrouds of darkness bathe the screen, as the spectre of Bale looms out, all the more chilling as shadows drape across his willowy form. This world of shadows is one where it seems anything can happen, and Bale's slow psychological disintegration seems entirely credible - the sheer physical agony of continual exhaustion seems to bleed out of the screen, infecting the viewer.
The plot itself is one which may seem familiar grounds for viewers well versed in mind twisting films such as this, but the execution is so strong, the predictable twist at the film's climax hardly detracts from the viewer's enjoyment at all. One starts to wonder if the ending was even intended to be a surprise to the viewer, or if its purpose was merely for them to watch the dishevelled Bale creep towards this inevitable revelation. At any rate, screenwriter Scott Kosar's airtight script makes for a compelling watch, and the film's pacing is superb, introducing each new plot point at a steady pace while still allowing for the pitch perfect development of tension. The wonderful cinematography captures the shadowy locations in a wonderfully eerie fashion, and the haunting musical score adds to the mood perfectly, and although it does start to get repetitive to the point of almost being distracting at times, it's a small complaint in a mood piece as strong as this.
Christian Bale has proved himself to be among the most watchable and consistently powerful performers in the industry of late, and The Machinist only proves the dedication and emotional investment he undergoes for each role. Bale resists the temptation to coast along on the shock value evoked by his emaciated form, and his powerhouse performance as chronically sleep deprived Trevor Reznik captivates in an almost peerless fashion. The strength and credibility of Bale's central performance is enough to carry the film through what might have otherwise come across as inane plot points. Bale is given quality support by Jennifer Jason Leigh as Reznik's call girl 'girlfriend', and Leigh instills her character with a down to earth dignity few other actresses would have captured. John Sharian makes for wonderfully eerie support as the mysterious Ivan, who continually causes Reznik mental strife throughout.
All things considered, few films of late have parallelled the atmospheric success of The Machinist. While it's plot may not entirely be a surprise for those familiar to the genre, the gloomily lit, masterful atmosphere and pitch perfect development of tension, combined with an immensely strong leading performance are enough to make Anderson's quiet but high quality film easily worth a watch.
-9/10