In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Saturday, 9 March 2013

The Machinist (2004)

An emaciated Christian Bale plays a man ill at ease in his daily routine. His presence also makes other people uneasy. Is his insomnia making him a little crazy, or is the world just not quite right?
There’s a sense of strain prevalent throughout. Even when it’s referencing other sources it manages to keep its own identity fully intact, due in part to the understated lighting, but mostly thanks to a focussed narrative and Bale's commitment to doing what was needed. He was like a walking skeleton.

5 post-it notes out of 5

2 comments:

cuckoo said...

Wonderful film.

Bale is the wiggins in this one.

Brad Anderson seemed to be doing good with films when he first started.

What the feck happened?

A big ol' 5 Trent Reznory names out of 5

cuckoo said...

There's a slight significance with "The Idiot".

The main character had blackouts in his childhood.

There's actually a few references to Dostoevsky's works in the film.