The Machinist (2004)
I liked "The Machinist" the first
time I saw it, when it was called "Fight Club," when
it was a "Twilight Zone" episode. The script is an
supposedly original piece from a guy, Scott Kosar,
whose only two other credits are for rewriting "Texas
Chainsaw Massacre" and "Amityville Horror" for post-
millennium remakes. To expect originality here, I
guess, is silly.
It's hard to believe that Christian
Bale suffered for months to lose all his body weight,
getting down to nothing more than a skeleton and skin,
for this obvious, contrived, boring piece of shit.
This film may look good, may have tones of atmosphere,
may have excellent acting and may be ultra-cool, but
the script is an obvious piece of shit. How Bale saw
anything on the page that made him believe it would
be worth all the effort is anyone's guess.
Bale plays the titular machinist,
a blue-collar factory worker who hasn't slept for
over a year. He dates a whore, visits an all night
diner and leaves the waitress huge tips for dessert
he doesn't eat, and begins to see a co-worker whom
no one else can see. This co-worker is kind of an
evil bastard and he seems to enjoy fucking with Bale's
character.
Here's a big spoiler: Bale is involved
in a hit and run in an attempt to find out who his
tormentor is. He reports the hit and run so the cops
will run his nemesis' plate number and he can find
out who he is. The cops take about an hour, never
once calling an ambulance for Bale, and then tell
him that the car was registered to him and involved
in an accident and reported stolen a year ago. Gee!
Do you think maybe all this contrived darkness and
weirdness going on in the machinist's mind could be
somehow connected to guilt? Say, the guilt of committing
a hit and run with his car?
It's not difficult to believe this
film is from Brad Anderson, a director who seem bent
on taking familiar and overly-used themes and tarting
then up with cool, dark, modern, minimalist atmospherics
and presenting them as something new. He did this
most recently prior to this film with the abysmal
"Session 9." He's back again with a theme about guilt
here. But this film is crap. Do not waste your money
on it. It's a story you've seen a million times. It's
the same five dollar whore that Rod Serling was using
tarted up in the Emperor's new minimalist clothes.
Notes:
Also with Jennifer Jason Leigh.
The interesting score is by Roque
Banos.
Bale went from 193 to 130 pounds
for the role. He wanted to get to 110, but the producers
refused for fear of his health. Bale ate one can of
tuna and an apple everyday while preparing for the
role. He has since gained the weight back.
Viewed in Austin in December 2004
with my friend Ashton.
