The Machinist, a review
For a long time I dreaded The Machinist. It's after all a thriller, the genre I don't like and most often don't understand a reason for. Thrillers are at odds with my sense of logic and rationality, and their mood equally irritates me and scares me sh..less. To sum it up, I see no reason for watching something that does not make sense AND makes me feel uneasy.
Well, but this one had Bale in it. Resistance was futile. ;->
A glance at Rotten Tomatoes movie review database reveals that The Machinist’s reviews obligatorily start with a reference to Bale’s unbelievable weight loss.
Yet it wasn’t what surprised me the most in the movie. Nor was it the not-so-twist ending, although I found it fully satisfying and neat. What came as a great surprise to me was Trevor Reznick’s way with ladies: they like him, they sympathise with him, they make him breakfast and take care of him. Even the elderly tenant, Mrs. Shike, treats him with surprising warmth and kindness.
Moreover, never did I see Bale in a role requiring of him so much… flirting. His usual trademark is an obsessed weirdo, not a ladies’ man, and especially not in a psychological thriller. Here, taking the dreary premises aside (and the fact that one of the women doesn’t in fact… All right, I’m shutting up.), he’s quite a charmer. Sure, maybe he should put on some ten or fifteen kilograms, maybe he’s got a blooming paranoia along with an eating disorder, but this guy’s funny, intelligent and sensitive. Well, at least when he’s not freaking out. ;->
The movie plays as if it’s directed by coherent, logical David Lynch, or at least Lynch kept in logical line by Christopher Nolan, for a benefit to them both. The mood and the genre aren’t solely an excuse for a series of badly connected scenes. On the contrary, each scene makes sense and offers another hint for the viewer. Some of them are purposefully misleading, but still all the clues are presented for us to pick up. The lighting of the scenes, sometimes nightmarish and sometimes painfully bright (the fun-faire scene!), enhances the mood, and - seen in retrospect - helps in solving the plot, too. Although it’s atmospheric and clearly symbolic, it isn’t overdone.
Unfortunately I can’t say the same about the soundtrack, which irritated me with its over the top “scary movie” feel. Reportedly the scriptwriter and director wanted Nine Inch Nails to record the soundtrack and I dearly wish they had succeeded. NIN would’ve fitted The Machinist perfectly.
The mystery plot in The Machinist wouldn’t pose much of a challenge to a thriller connoisseur (whom I am not), as the hints are dropped heavily enough. Yet it’s not the puzzle that makes this film worth seeing, or rather not only the puzzle. Actually, I sympathised strongly with the main character (yep, another woman who falls for nice Mr Reznick). His story became less of a mystery and more of the psychological journey, where one feels for Trevor and wants to help him, despite his paranoid freak outs and his uncertain past.
I recommend this movie with no doubts - it’s a solid, well done picture, which I liked despite the fact that usually I avoid thrillers and horrors at all costs.
And you know what, kind reader? Those 55 kilograms of Bale (183 cm of height) aren’t nearly as hideous as the reviewers made me believe. ;-D
Well, but this one had Bale in it. Resistance was futile. ;->
A glance at Rotten Tomatoes movie review database reveals that The Machinist’s reviews obligatorily start with a reference to Bale’s unbelievable weight loss.
Yet it wasn’t what surprised me the most in the movie. Nor was it the not-so-twist ending, although I found it fully satisfying and neat. What came as a great surprise to me was Trevor Reznick’s way with ladies: they like him, they sympathise with him, they make him breakfast and take care of him. Even the elderly tenant, Mrs. Shike, treats him with surprising warmth and kindness.
Moreover, never did I see Bale in a role requiring of him so much… flirting. His usual trademark is an obsessed weirdo, not a ladies’ man, and especially not in a psychological thriller. Here, taking the dreary premises aside (and the fact that one of the women doesn’t in fact… All right, I’m shutting up.), he’s quite a charmer. Sure, maybe he should put on some ten or fifteen kilograms, maybe he’s got a blooming paranoia along with an eating disorder, but this guy’s funny, intelligent and sensitive. Well, at least when he’s not freaking out. ;->
The movie plays as if it’s directed by coherent, logical David Lynch, or at least Lynch kept in logical line by Christopher Nolan, for a benefit to them both. The mood and the genre aren’t solely an excuse for a series of badly connected scenes. On the contrary, each scene makes sense and offers another hint for the viewer. Some of them are purposefully misleading, but still all the clues are presented for us to pick up. The lighting of the scenes, sometimes nightmarish and sometimes painfully bright (the fun-faire scene!), enhances the mood, and - seen in retrospect - helps in solving the plot, too. Although it’s atmospheric and clearly symbolic, it isn’t overdone.
Unfortunately I can’t say the same about the soundtrack, which irritated me with its over the top “scary movie” feel. Reportedly the scriptwriter and director wanted Nine Inch Nails to record the soundtrack and I dearly wish they had succeeded. NIN would’ve fitted The Machinist perfectly.
The mystery plot in The Machinist wouldn’t pose much of a challenge to a thriller connoisseur (whom I am not), as the hints are dropped heavily enough. Yet it’s not the puzzle that makes this film worth seeing, or rather not only the puzzle. Actually, I sympathised strongly with the main character (yep, another woman who falls for nice Mr Reznick). His story became less of a mystery and more of the psychological journey, where one feels for Trevor and wants to help him, despite his paranoid freak outs and his uncertain past.
I recommend this movie with no doubts - it’s a solid, well done picture, which I liked despite the fact that usually I avoid thrillers and horrors at all costs.
And you know what, kind reader? Those 55 kilograms of Bale (183 cm of height) aren’t nearly as hideous as the reviewers made me believe. ;-D