Rating of
2/4
"The Machinist" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 06/24/12
I'd heard a lot about this film, particularly involving Christian Bale's dramatic weight loss and his physical transformation is remarkable. He plays an insomniac haunted by hallucinations and a constant feeling of deja vu until he begins to discover notes left for him by an unknown figure, leading him to fear for his sanity. These kind of psycho dramas tend only to work if done with subtlety; the best examples, Fight Club, Memento and The Sixth Sense are exercises in directorial expertise, the audience fed with misdirections and seeds of potential clues which in each case leads to a powerful climactic revelation. During this film however, I felt like I was having to clamber through a minefield of heavy-handed symbolism and hulking sign posts pointing to a conclusion that had been blatantly obvious for most of the film. It's by no means a waste of time; Bale's performance is magnificent and it is beautifully shot, but it lacks the complexity or depth to make it a truly satisfying experience.
