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Movies / Upcoming / The Machinist
The Machinist

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The Machinist (2004)

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Reviews Counted:131

Fresh:98

Rotten:33

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: A suspenseful low-budget thriller where Christian Bale completely inhabits his role.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $939,471

Synopsis: Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place... Christian Bale delivers one of cinema's most sacrificial performances in Brad Anderson's mesmerizing thriller. Written by Scott Kosar (2003's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), THE MACHINIST takes place in a bleak and nondescript American city, where Trevor Reznick (Bale) is quite literally withering away to nothing. During the day Trevor works in a colorless industrial factory, while at night he seeks refuge in the bed of a tender prostitute, Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). For reasons unknown even to Trevor, he hasn't been able to sleep for an entire year. In the process, he has shed over sixty pounds, making him look like a walking skeleton. After an accident at the factory costs Trevor his job, he finds himself tracking a mysterious figure that may or may not, in fact, provide some answers to his confusion. Meanwhile, he begins to connect with a pretty airport waitress, Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), who shows Trevor some much-needed sympathy. By the time the film builds to its revelatory conclusion, it becomes quite clear just what has been tormenting Trevor all along. Anderson and Kosar's vision is brought to spectacular life by cinematographer Xavi Gimenez and composer Roque Banos, whose haunting atmospherics recall the best work of Alfred Hitchcock. And then, of course, there is Bale, whose performance is as terrifying, brave, and devastating as the screen has ever seen. [More]

Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside

Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Michael Ironside, John Sharian

Director: Brad Anderson

Director: Brad Anderson
Screenwriter: Scott Kosar
Producer: Julio Fernandez
Composer: Roque Banos
Studio: Paramount Classics

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Reviews for The Machinist

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A foreboding, noir-bending film of visceral, internalized tension and confusion.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
11/24/04
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Wish it all added up to more than a stock morality play.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
11/23/04
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

The secret to the appeal of The Machinist is director Brad Anderson's ability to sustain an off-balanced, discombobulated mood throughout the film.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/23/04
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

If grimly atmospheric studies in alienation are your cup of tea, you should find director Brad Anderson's dark brew especially tasty.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/23/04
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

It's an overly calculated, schematic graph of a script that eliminates the things we go to the movies to experience: interesting characters, a story we can relate to, an emotional release.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
11/23/04
Steve Murray
Steve Murray
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

While it's hardly a great movie, thanks to Bale's remarkable performance it's a genuinely creepy and engrossing one.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
11/23/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

A relentless and painful reminder of concentration camp terrors and famine relief operations.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
11/22/04
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Although the primary plot line turns out to be a letdown, there are aspects of The Machinist that redeem it. Bale's performance is one; another is the dull, metallic look of the picture.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
11/19/04
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

The director Brad Anderson, working from a screenplay by Scott Kosar, wants to convey a state of mind, and he and Bale do that with disturbing effectiveness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/19/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Interesting premise, terrific performance, shocking transformation - the image of Christian Bale's skeletal appearance will stay with you long after you leave the theatre.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
11/19/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

If the intent of Anderson, Bale and Kosar is to create empathy for their tortured character and synesthesia with his madness, then they succeed many times over.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | comment Comment
11/18/04
Matt Kelemen
Matt Kelemen
Las Vegas CityLife

It's a carefully layered, tautly directed and superbly acted psychological thriller.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
11/18/04
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News

A moody psychological thriller with a stunning performance by Christian Bale at its core.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
11/18/04
Achy Obejas
Achy Obejas
Chicago Tribune

The thing we most dread is that this existential mystery will have an unsatisfying resolution, and in this case, our worst fears are realized.

Full Review Source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram | comment Comment
11/18/04
Scott Von Doviak
Scott Von Doviak
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Christian Bale delivers one of the most astounding performances of the year in this exceptionally written psychological thriller. **

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
11/15/04
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Smacks of a movie made by people who've spent a lot more time watching movies than absorbing them.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/12/04
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

Needless to say, Bale goes the extra mile for the role of title character Trevor Reznick.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/12/04
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

Anderson's effort here isn't bad, but, as measured on the scary-intruder index, this is more of a front-porch flick. Movie over, it's not hard to shut the door on it.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/12/04
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

Riveting not only for its visuals ... it's also riddled with amusing metaphors.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
11/07/04
Steve Head
Steve Head
IGN Movies

Anderson struggles to maintain an emotional connection, but he crafts a remarkably sure-handed little thriller.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/04/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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