Apparently The Machinist is a Spanish film, and its official name is El Maquinista—and here I always assumed it was American. (It does take place in Los Angeles.) Spain seems to be more open to brilliant filmmaking than all of the Hollywood studios that turned this one down. And it was brilliant. I can't say that I loved it, because my spine was crawling throughout the entire film, but I can say that it was bloody brilliant filmmaking. At the end, all I could do was stare at the screen in a dumbfounded manner, stifling the urge to voice random strings of expletives. It was just that mind-boggling.The plot was complex and twisted and left one guessing. Everything you thought you knew about it turns out to be wrong. While you can guess some plot twists, others just hit you like a ton of bricks. As psychological thrillers go, this one is tops. (Although I think "thriller" is the wrong word. I don't know what's better.) Aside from the well-written script, the primary driving forces behind the suspense were an eerie score and incredibly ominous camera angles—if one can describe camera angles as such. Taking all of these elements together... One hell of a ride. Add to that some interesting symbolism, a lesson in morality, and great acting—did I say brilliant?
And we can't review this without mentioning Christian Bale and his unhealthy devotion to perfecting a role. The loss of 63 pounds, to the point where he looked that malnourished, is both impressive and revolting. True, it really did add to the role, but he is still a great actor without the physical modifications. Weight loss aside, this really was one of the best roles I've ever seen him in. He really looked like he was slowly losing his mind. Wow.
A final summary: truly terrifying. It will give you goosebumps and make you look over your shoulder in the dark, but in the end the only thing that's there to scare is what's inside the human mind. Which makes the film that much more effective.
Rating: 4.0 (not entirely sure about this)
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