A little guilt goes a long way.

It’s a bit horrifying to see Christian Bale in The Machinist after he lost more than 60 pounds for the role. But after you accept his look (which is hard to ever forget), the film becomes more of a meditation on how we treat people and how we see the world. Precisely constructed with careful shooting and editing, it lays all of the elements of the story out and then things begin to click together. While it’s a story that is somewhat familiar, the visual treatment and performances make it stand out from more conventional treatments of the same topics.

I can’t believe how much wieght Bale had to lose to play this part. Now thats dedication!

It started out slow, but it was better than I expected it to be.

It’s all about telling old stories in a new way, isn’t it ? Let’s face it, the story-line is so predictable: guilty conscience. The narration is not that revolutionary, especially after Memento experience. Plus I’m fed up with a heart-of-gold whore characters. What adds depth is Bale’s eerie appearance and soulful performance. It’s a moving study of a tormented person who is in deep denial of himself. In addition it’s a visual feast.Visualizations of Trevor’s paranoia,anxiety and delusions are exeptional.

very Kafka and Hitchcock-esque. The cinematography was wonderful. I liked it.

I’m also very impressed that it was all shot in Barcelona… I was fooled!

Not totally without good points, but still a kind of crappy Memento ripoff.

My husband used to work with Brad Anderson so we go out of our way to find his movies. Plus I really like Jennifer Jason Leigh…

another cheery movie