The Machinist

Considered something of a cult classic this films owes a great deal to many older sources, but as such the world created by Kosar and Anderson is wonderfully nightmarish and for all it's influences shockingly original. The film explores many themes the primary two being guilt and madness. Themes that can in conjunction with one another be arguably traced back as far as Poe's The Telltale Heart short story but the film has a complexity that truly makes it a modern classic.

The set designs as seems typical with most of the great Psychological thrillers are a marvel to behold with the dreamlike ghost train sequence being of particular note for it's wonderful otherworldly quality and intelligent use of garish theme park style design. The main character's apartment is reminscent of jacob's Ladder in the sense that it seems to be a world of it's own in constant flux. This is particularly true of the kitchen enviroment which changes constantly throughout the film.

It could be said that while Christian Bale plays the lead role very well for the majority of the film there are areas where he appears to lapse into almost of parody of the character he is portraying but these are few and far between as for the most part he does a truly incredible job of making himself believable.

The lighting in the film is of note as it is incredibly cold seeming utilizing lots of blue filter and high contrast blacks, this gives the film a very washed out look reminiscent of modern independant movies that aim for a gritty feel. However this does not have the indie feel as the lighting brings great effect to the mood of the piece and helps draw you in to what the character is experiencing.

Like most films of it's kind The Machinist will keep you guessing right until the end while at the same time exploring some complex themes the use of insomnia and madness as a theme is very well interweaved leaving you questioning the credibilty of both the main protagonist and the world he occupies, these elements especially the use of hallucinations as a plot device brought to mind the earlier work Requiem For a Dream which like this used hallucination to great and horrific effect.

There is a lot about the film's production that while incredible is also very understated. This is played to grreat effect and keeps a firm foothold on suspension of disbelief, arguably an important fact considering the surreal almost expressionist quality of the film. For example a major catalyst in the storyline is a man's arm getting severely injured in a piece of machinery which is used to break up the routine of the main character's life and send him on a downward spiral. The special effect used to create this accident are incredible but the gore of the accident is not overstated leaving a more lasting effect merely from the actor's reactions which are it could be said quite realistic. this focus on emotion over event give the film a true feeling of dread throughout as the majority of the film is character driven drama.