"The Machinist" Film Review by, Hawking A. Lugey 12/24/04

In "The Machinist", a pretentious but dreamy little
art-flick, Christian Bale cements his place in the
firmament of the greatest actors of his generation
(Guy Pearce and Russell Crow must make room for
another non-American A-lister). And, Bale goes to
places perhaps only De Niro has been as regards
altering his physical makeup in service to a role. In
case you haven't heard, Bale reduced from 180 to 120
pounds for the role and his utter emaciation, although
initially distracting, begins to make more and more
sense as this "Memento"-like plot unfolds. No new
ground broken, then, but a haunting gem of a movie
nonetheless. Bale's performance corrodes and haunts
for (going on two) weeks after you leave the theater.

Bale plays Trevor Reznik, a metal-working machinist
whose Holocaust-victim appearance goes unexplained,
though not uncommented upon, as he makes his way
through an Anytown, USA blue collar life. He visits a
whore, played deftly by Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose
breast-baring streak of understated performances
continues. Reznik also regularly visits an airport
diner for pie (uneaten) and coffee and the company of
a saintly, single-mother waitress. But then things
at the machine shop begin to go awry when Reznik meets
the menacing and mysterious Ivan. Finally, the
deliberately withheld plot points unfold in a superb
last half hour which satisfies without feeling too
neat.

Although it is at times slow-moving, the washed out
colors and bleak look of the film, combined with the
intense performances, make this a Brown Brothers must see.