Above and beyond the call Mr Bale!

Rating: 9/10 (30 June 2011)

Throughout film history, there are several well documented cases of actors taking their preparation to the max. De Niro's Jake La Motta springs immediately to mind as one prepared to physically alter his body to fit the role but what Christian Bale does here is way above and beyond the call of duty. It's genuinely disturbing and yet crucial to the film to see 'Batman' looking like an Auschwitz survivor.
That said, it doesn't define the film. Sure it's a key part of it but the plot is excellent, the way the film unravels (literally in the case of the reveal-all carpet scene we return to at the end) and the way Reznik's reality and his fantasy world blend so seamlessly that it takes real concentration to keep up at times, make this a really, really good psychological thriller. It's possible to work out the ending, in the same way that some guessed Sixth Sense and Usual Suspects perhaps, but it doesn't matter. Brad Andersons "The Machinist" is an excellent study of how a bad decision that a good man makes, can lead to unbearable guilt and life changing mental frailty and it's a real tick on Christian Bale's acting CV.
Congrats to all concerned. Great movie.