Surprisingly good, but a little predictable

Rating: 8/10 (29 August 2005)

Some of the comments about this film talk about it's predictability. I think we sometimes view movies as if they are quizzes, or game shows, in which we pat ourselves on the back for guessing and ending. I think if you are caught up in a GOOD film, it's predictability should be incidental. First, Bale's transformation rivals anything Lon Chaney Sr. ever did, and makes Deniro's Raging Bull weight gain look easy. He wanted to go to 100 pounds, but the producers were afraid it would do harm to him. I have to say that I went into this film not knowing that Bale was in it, and did not even recognize him until 30 minutes into it, and then still wasn't sure. The Machinist is dark and thoughtful. It's not meant to trick us. It's meant to treat us to the absolute horror of having killed a child and repressed the memory, and it succeeds in this. Jason-Leigh is very good as is the counter girl. But the object of the movie is obviously to pull us into his nightmare, and to this end, I think it trumps movies like "The Sixth Sense". Johnny Depp did a horrible version of "The Secret Window", a Steven King short story turned movie with a similar plot line that was childish compared to this thriller. To me, the mark of a movie that it meant to be emotionally unsettling is whether it is or not. I was definitely emotionally involved, and to some degree depressed afterwords. It worked. I have a whole new respect for C Bale.