Dynamic and depressing

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2005)

Boy, there is so much to say about "The Machinist", and it's hard to do it without spoilers, so I'm not even going to try to keep it spoiler-free. The story is excellent; confusing at times, but intellectually stimulating. I loved that there were several Dostoevsky references (Trevor is reading "The Idiot", a sign in a funhouse reads "Crime and Punishment", an integral character's name is Ivan ("The Brothers Karamazov") and the film itself smacked of "Notes From the Underground"). What I admired most about the film, however, is that I had absolutely no freaking' clue what was going on until the end, and even then it took about three hours of reflection to really form solid enough thoughts to even begin to think about composing criticisms. Films like this come along far too infrequently, and I'm sure that there have been inevitable comparisons to "Memento", I think both for its cleverness and for its originality. The film, while staying linear (for the most part, a few flashbacks occur) is scattered and obtuse, but that is because we are experiencing everything through the eyes of Trevor, as he sees and discovers things. There are several clues that lead you to find out what the solution to the mysterious visions and notes are about, but truthfully, they are only effective after the reveal, and only then do you see the genius behind them. Most of the clues lie within a nightmarish carnival ride sequence that, once dissected, make complete sense. Also impressive were the subtle ways that Trevor's "conscience" is revealed; whether something as bold as a physical manifestation, to a book dropping to the floor  any time Trevor tried to sleep, something would quickly happen, and the agony is almost tangible.
The cinematography in "The Machinist" is dead-on and fantastic. Everything having to do with Trevor in his apartment, or in his car is in muted, blue-gray tones. The machine shop is dark, and certain key moments of the film are brightly lit, most notably the aforementioned carnival sequence. It's almost like, after having seen it, the scenes were screaming "Pay attention to this!" Anderson also does a great job of giving just enough in a scene to make you believe one thing, until you see the actual events later; there were several times where based on one snippet of information, or one image I was given, I was convinced of the circumstances until I was (every time) shown the "real" happenings. (Example: the yellow flashlight) It is only at the end, when Trevor discovers the truth, and becomes unburdened, does his world become light; and this is evidenced by the gleaming white of the room he ends up in.
Much has been made of Christian Bale's physical transformation from 6 feet, 180 pounds to 120 pounds, and indeed, it was definitely an amazing (albeit dangerous) endeavor, but I went into the film telling myself that I wouldn't mention it in my review. Quickly, however, I realized that it wasn't just a gimmicky thing, this was the real deal, and the weight loss was an important part to the character. When we realize that it's not just "simple" insomnia, but torment that is plaguing Trevor, that makes his appearance all the more meaningful and pitiful. Bale was indescribably good in this film. I have enjoyed a couple of his other roles, (most notably, as American Psycho, Patrick Bateman) but his performance in this film completely blew me away. I really wonder where the nominating committees for various awards were (I'm mainly looking at you, Independent Spirit Awards) when this film was released, because it was certainly nomination-worthy, and one of the best performances I have seen in a long time. Also good was John Sharian, who played Ivan. He was one eerie motherfarker, and even when his true nature is revealed, you still want to shower after watching him.
Frankly, there is not a lot of negative criticism I can attribute to this film; it is confusing, yes, but at the same time it is incredibly thought-provoking and intelligent, so being someone who (for the most part) respects challenging cinema, any confusion only meant that there were more puzzles to solve, puzzles I'm STILL working out in my head. This is going to be a turnoff to a lot of mainstream audiences. Also, because the film as a whole was extremely creepy and sinister, when the actual reveal occurs, it is a tad bit of a letdown because I expected something even more terrible than the events that actually occurred. (And anyone who has seen the film or sees it after reading this review is going to think I'm a pretty terrible person for saying that, I'm sure) but there were just so many other horrible scenarios that could have happened, that I almost felt the ending was a tad bit mild. Film endings can make or break a film for me, and though this has a (mostly) happy ending, it was really the best ending I can think of for this film, so because of this, for the reasons I've mentioned, and for many that I can't fit into this review, "The Machinist" is a film that I would highly recommend to Independent cinema lovers and to film-goers who love to chew on a film for awhile, turning it around in their minds until they come up with several different theories. That is what I have been doing since I saw the film last night, and even as I write this review I'm still coming up with other thoughts. See this film; you're probably going to see it on my Top Ten 2005 list in December. 8/10