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Reviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
THE MACHINIST
The makers of The Machinist unfortunately want it two ways: to create an earnest crime drama with the plot twists and revelations of a supernatural or psychological thriller (think of The Sixth Sense and its spin offs). There are even some existential intimations - the central character, Trevor Reznik, reads Dostoevsky's The Idiot, and is told if he were any thinner he wouldn't exist. Luckily, a faulty conception is about the only flaw the movie has. Every other aspect - the acting, make-up, editing, music and the like - hits the mark and hits it soundly.
Much will be made of Christian Bale's withering himself down from 190 to 120 pounds for the role of Reznik, a blue-collar worker who hasn't slept in a year. His coworkers, taking note of his weight loss, think he's doing drugs, especially after Reznik is largely responsible for a bloody workplace accident. But it's Bale's eyes that grab you. They're at once honest and evasive, as is his dialogue. When a waitress asks Trevor if he's lonely, he answers, "How could I be lonely with you to keep me company?" Jennifer Jason Leigh is almost unrecognizable as Stevie, a tender-hearted prostitute (Trevor is a regular client). It's partly the hair and make up. But it's also that Leigh inhabits the role better than any in memory.
The film piles mystery upon mystery. Is Trevor being followed? Who is threatening him? But in the end, once we discover why post-it notes keep appearing on his refrigerator and what's really troubling him, we can't help but feel manipulated. Employing too many unnecessary plot devices - machinations - risks losing sympathy and admiration for Trevor and Stevie. Steven Cordova, contributing editor and poet, whose chapbook, Slow Dissolve,
is available from Momotombo Press
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