Night at the Movies: The Machinist

[Scrivener]

So I just drove out to the local indy theatre to see The Machinist. So far I've absolutely loved everything Christian Bale has been in - American Psycho, Reign of Fire, Equilibreum... etc.

Now here's the quick hit: while The Machinist is a pretty good movie, the last 15 minutes are pretty weak. It's like the movie keeps building up to this super-dramatic climax, but instead of giving you a shocking revelation - it just sort of fizzles out with an "eh, that's what I figured" too-obvious-for-it's-own-good ending.

It's especially frustrating because things start to get really crazy to the point of being nearly overwhelming. Then the movie throws you a "haha, I tricked you" curve ball, and goes for the least interesting end scenario that one might think of. Not to mention this kind of full-exposition ending means that it's not the kind of movie that would lend itself to repeated viewings. Once you get it - it's over - and there's nothing more to get out of it.

That said, it's worth seeing at least once. Especially if you're into Fight Club, Memento, Jacob's Ladder - or other similar hallucinatory movies. If there's one thing Machinist does really really well - it's conveying that wierd insanity that happens when you don't sleep for a long time (I've been there, I know how it feels).

7/10

Tomorrow: Primer and SAW.