I finally saw "The Machinist" a few nights ago. Good movie, but I really expected more. The writer and director wanted the story to be deeper than it really was. The movie was pretty simple to figure out (except one part of it
) especially for someone who has seen "Fight Club" more than a couple times. This is mainly due to the fact that Ivan is played by a comic book like caricature of a man…if it was someone who looked more like Trevor (main character) than it would be a bit harder to figure out. There are a few obvious moments where the story is simply given away: the wallet in the bar, the license plate, etc. The way the movie is shot doesn't give the viewer the sensation of being in Trevor's head; it would be nice to see what a more skilled director could do with this piece.
The story is loosely based on Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment," – very loosely. A guy commits a sin, lives in a personal hell, and could only reach salvation (which in this case is sleep after more than a year of insomnia) by confessing and turning himself in.
Christian Bale (Trevor, and now the new Batman) put out a very good performance. It is reassuring to see that some actors will still go to the lengths he did to prepare for this role physically – at one point he weight only 119 pounds…nothing more than skin and bones.
Nevertheless, the movie is interesting and worth the rental fee. 8.2/10
