It begins dark and depressing, but ends up merely dull.
The Machinist (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:24
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: A suspenseful low-budget thriller where Christian Bale completely inhabits his role.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence and disturbing images, sexuality and language
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Oct 22, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $939,471
Synopsis: Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place... Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place in a bleak and nondescript American city, where Trevor Reznick (Bale) is quite literally withering away to nothing. During the day Trevor works in a colorless industrial factory, while at night he seeks refuge in the bed of a tender prostitute, Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). For reasons unknown even to Trevor, he hasn't been able to sleep for an entire year. In the process, he has shed over sixty pounds, making him look like a walking skeleton. After an accident at the factory costs Trevor his job, he finds himself tracking a mysterious figure that may or may not, in fact, provide some answers to his confusion. Meanwhile, he begins to connect with a pretty airport waitress, Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), who shows Trevor some much-needed sympathy. By the time the film builds to its revelatory conclusion, it becomes quite clear just what has been tormenting Trevor all along. Anderson and Kosar's vision is brought to spectacular life by cinematographer Xavi Gimenez and composer Roque Banos, whose haunting atmospherics recall the best work of Alfred Hitchcock. And then, of course, there is Bale, whose performance is as terrifying, brave, and devastating as the screen has ever seen. [More]
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside, John Sharian
Director: Brad Anderson
Director: Brad Anderson
Screenwriter: Scott Kosar
Producer: Julio Fernandez
Composer: Roque Banos
Studio: Paramount Classics
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Release:
May 19, 2009
Blu-ray Disc Features:
- Region [unknown]
- NTSC
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby True HD 5.1 - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Subtitles - English - SDH
- Subtitles - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary:
- 1. Director Brad Anderson
Trailers:
- 1. Theatrical Trailer
Additional Scenes:
- 1. Trevor Visits Mysterious Grave
- 2. Alternate Intersection Crosscut with Burning Paper
- 3. Pensive Trevor (Alternate Transition to Airport)
- 4. Stevie's Mysterious "John"
- 5. Alternate Chase Ending Revealing Chimneys
- 6. Trevor Tries To Skip Town
- 7. Trevor Confronts Mother at Cemetery
- 8. Alternative Version of Holding Cell
Reviews for The Machinist
Though Bale deserves all the credit that can be heaped at his feet ... there is far more to this sinister psychological thriller than just exhibiting Bale's emaciated form.
Mainly this is all Bale's show. He is strangely sympathetic, taking us right into Trevor's pain without any special pleading.
A superior exercise in mood and atmospherics, a drama that springs from a place of deep disturbance.
If grimly atmospheric studies in alienation are your cup of tea, you should find director Brad Anderson's dark brew especially tasty.
It's an overly calculated, schematic graph of a script that eliminates the things we go to the movies to experience: interesting characters, a story we can relate to, an emotional release.
The director Brad Anderson, working from a screenplay by Scott Kosar, wants to convey a state of mind, and he and Bale do that with disturbing effectiveness.
It's a carefully layered, tautly directed and superbly acted psychological thriller.
A moody psychological thriller with a stunning performance by Christian Bale at its core.
Smacks of a movie made by people who've spent a lot more time watching movies than absorbing them.
Anderson's effort here isn't bad, but, as measured on the scary-intruder index, this is more of a front-porch flick. Movie over, it's not hard to shut the door on it.
A stylish but fatally shallow puzzler that suggests a Twilight Zone episode filmed on the leftover sets of Seven.
There is more to Bale's performance than the stick figure physique. Trevor is a man literally being consumed with angst, eyes hollow, posture stooped and mouth agape.
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
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