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THE MACHINIST (2004) Director: Brad Anderson. Hacktors: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Ironside. Rating/5: The lowdown: Trevor Reznick isn’t doing too well. He works a dangerous job as a machinist, hasn’t slept for over a year and is literally wasting away. His social life consists of visits to a prostitute and late night chats with a waitress at an airport cafe as he tries to fill his endless waking hours. Stuck in a rut, Reznick’s life is simply winding down. That was until someone broke into his apartment and left the cryptic note on his fridge. Now Reznick has a new and deepening problem. Someone wants him to pay. He doesn’t know who, why, or even what for? As his own paranoia pushes him to find the answer and his life implodes around him as a result, he starts to realise that some things are worse than death. Good points: Brad Anderson made quite the genre splash when Session 9 came out in 2001. It was a well-received film that marked him as a director with a lot of potential. After helming a couple of edgy cop shows for American TV he returned to independent film making with this haunting tale of madness and paranoia which proves he is a truly great talent. The Machinist works on so many levels - mystery, horror, romance and tragedy - each overlapping to create a narrative drive that hits all the harder emotionally. The bleak lighting, using grim greys that permeate everything, perfectly captures the dark mood of a film where there is no ray of sunshine. It is not an easy ride, at times depressing and disturbing. Ultimately, it creates a horror that is altogether too human. Bad points: Some people may find it all a bit too miserable, or be disturbed by Bale’s cadaverous appearance. As a result it may not have much rewatch value for a DVD purchase for those folks. DVD Details: The DVD reviewed here is the UK Tartan Films release. It has an anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer with a option of a DTS, Dolby 5.1 or Dolby 2.0 soundtrack. The extras feature an exclusive interview with the director, and audio commentary, eight deleted scenes, trailer and a making of featurette. Please note, this is a region free DVD and can be played anywhere in the world. The Region 1 disc also features the above extras. Overall: This is very much a film where you want to watch it knowing as little about the plot specifics as possible, hence why I haven't put any in this review! What I hope to have done, though, is make you want to see this amazing film. It is a challenging, disturbing movie in which every collaborator does the best work of their career to date. How Bale went straight from this to bulking up for Batman I will never know, but what a career he can have now. In a just world his performance would have received a Oscar nomination. Surely one won't be long coming, though, for this superbly gifted actor. Release Date: Out now everywhere. Release Date: Jon Kelly. [Check it out at Amazon US] [Check it out at Amazon UK] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present