The Machinist

The ambiguity of every scene in The Machinist amuses me immensely. It's a bit of a shame that the existential level is killed a bit by the necessary point of the story, but I still enjoy the playfulness of form and content throughout. When you add in a good dose of witty cynicism (my favorite, when Reznik gets dementedly hit by a car and the camera focuses on the "I'd rather be fishing" sticker) and Bale's dedication, The Machinist deserves five stars. (12/10/2010)

A very powerful and depressing film that relies mainly on Christian Bale's acting and looks. The director dictates the pace brilliantly and with the gloomy atmosphere he manages to keep the viewer in the highest tension and alertness for an hour and a half. The screenplay doesn't fool around, either, it's purposeful all the way through and the ending, even though it may be guessed ahead of time, is an excellent and exciting conclusion to this outstanding and original thriller. (13/07/2011)

A well made mystery drama with elements of horror. You you will have to enjoy the atmosphere because to story itself is not that surprising (if you’ve already watched a few films, figuring out the twist will be easy). That said, The Machinist is still worth watching, if only for Christian Bale’s superhuman (inhuman) performance. (03/07/2009)

A very interesting film with an original idea. The Spanish occasionally come up with excellent films, and I believe The Machinist is among them. Christian Bale shines in the lead role, astonishing me with how much weight he lost for this part, even more than with his brilliant acting performance. The atmosphere throughout the film is quite mysterious, and until the last minutes, I didn’t know what to expect from the upcoming moments. The story is thought out to the last detail, and I didn’t find any significant gaps in it. The ending was truly perfect in every way, which I didn’t expect. I give it 85%. (06/08/2016)

The viewer's slight and, over time, steadily increasing suspicion diminishes the resulting effect of the final revelation. The Machinist, therefore, is strong not in the incisive Shyamalan-like twist (which I found satisfying, it was very fitting in the context for the story), but in the brilliant depiction of the mental suffering of a man, sparked by severe insomnia and the violent repression of guilt within himself. On top of that, the gloomy atmosphere was delicious. Anderson could not have found a better actor than Bale, in whose face all the shades of mental anguish and fatigue are perfectly visible, and whose Stanislavskian method, supported by the consumption of just one apple a day, leads to something that, in scenes where Bale's character is half undressed, makes the viewer feel physically sick. Apples were soon replaced by mounds of doughnuts (the model diet of any proper Batman) and it makes me want to say that Bale is not the devil, KevSpo. Even he wouldn't take such a gamble with his health :) (22/10/2005)