The Machinist

This film should have done one of two things for Bale's career. 1- Show how great he can be and 2.- Show what lengths he is willing to go for a movie role. Not only a movie role, but one no one will see, no one will buzz about, and one in which the title of the film and the word Oscar are not uttered in the same sentence. The Batman himself dropped his statue down to a frightening 100 pounds. It looks almost fake, but he committed to something no one he knew understood. The story follows a man who works as a machinist and hasn't slept in over 1 year. This messes with his overall mentality to say the least. He is a bit of a schizo, and very paranoid. The sad part is he has no idea why he was unable to sleep anymore. Repressed memories plays a big role. He is constantly battling himself in the form of a hangman game written on a post it note stuck to his fridge. His paranoia solves the puzzle a few different times, but they are not always accurate. Every time he solves the answer, that is the direction his mind goes and he stops at nothing until he plays it out. People get hurt, to say the least. He has a few relationships through the film. One is a woman he met that has a young boy. He likes having her around. The other is a prostitute played by Jennifer Jason Leigh. She is his only real confidant, but like every thing else in his life, his paranoia screws that up also. I mean if a prostitute kicks you out, you've got problems. The plot comes to a head when he realizes he may be able to sleep if he figures out the puzzle. It's a sad and brilliant ending all at the same time. A little advice, don't work around heavy machinery if you haven't slept in a year. Just saying, could get ugly. Bale is so dedicated to his craft he will stop at nothing for perfection. This is why I don't have a huge issue with his news making rant on the set of Terminator with that choreographer. If he strives for perfection from himself why shouldn't he expect it of every one around him? He has a very impressive catalogue under his Bat Belt and it should continue to grow until he does win that Oscar. During a scene where he had to carry a 40 pound boy in his arms, he was so malnourished they had to shoot the scene several times to get it. He could carry this boy a mere 40 feet without being extremely winded or falling down under the pressure. Amazing.


NBM rate The Machinist - Phenomenal


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