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Machinist (The)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (17th May 2009). |
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The Film
 I had waited a long time to see "The Machinist," I remember talking with a friend about the trailer over a year before the DVD was eventually released. After the DVD release, I finally got to view the film, but the first time I watched it I was very tired and nodded off in and out as the film progressed. This was not because of boredom but rather my own fatigue getting the better of me. Watching a film a about a character who can't sleep while nodding in and out of sleep is a rather bizarre experience I wouldn't recommend it, it messes with your head. The second time I viewed the film I was much more conscious and was pulled into the film for the full 101 minute ride. And now I was happy to revisit the film on HD with this Blu-ray release from Paramount. "The Machinist" is not a new concept, the marketing guru's behind the film's release have compared it to "Fight Club" (1999) or "Memento" (2000) although it certainly has elements from both of those films it's a unique little character study of the effects of insomnia have on the human condition, body and mind. Amazingly actor Christian Bale lost 63 pounds to play the frail insomniac Trevor Reznik. A feat that was dangerously life threatening, only allowing himself a can of tuna and an apple a day Bale transformed himself into the tortured character as written by Scott Kosar. Trevor Reznik is "The Machinist" a man who hasn't slept in over a year, whose insomnia has left him a broken frail human being. The effects of which have started to infiltrate his mind, he begins to see things that aren't there, people that don't exist but only in his mind. One day at the machine shop where he works a terrible accident leaves one employee without a hand, Trevor is to blame. His guilt and paranoia gets the better of him when he suddenly discovers cryptic notes left in his apartment. Unsure if someone is out for revenge or his mind playing tricks Reznik desperately tries to save his sanity while uncovering the truth behind a past that haunts him, that's linked to his condition. "The Machinist" feels like a modern day Alfred Hitchcock film, director Brad Anderson calls it a tragic physiological drama with influences from Hitchcock and Polanski. "The Machinist" is a disturbing character study of a man confronted by his own guilty conscious, and the rediscovery of his dirty secret that has lost itself in his mind as a result of his guilt ladened insomnia. Bale's performance is haunting and disturbing, he's truly become the character inside and out torturing himself in order to achieve the mindset of Trevor. He's able to evoke shock, sympathy and real concern from the viewer that engages you in the film's narrative. Equally interesting are the supporting players that include Michael Ironside as his co-worker Miller who loses his hand in the accident and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stevie a local prostitute (Surprise, surprise has this woman been type-cast or what, it seems like every movie that has Leigh in it she plays a whore/slut type character) Trevor frequents. Leigh's character is in many ways Trevor's anchor in reality, the relationship is interestingly complex yet, Stevie appears to be the only person that can look past Trevor's horrid condition. Aided by their onscreen chemistry, the scenes with these characters are among the most interesting voyeuristically to watch. Performance-wise this film is superb, story-wise it's a little thin. "The Machinist" feels like a short film padded out to feature length with a twist at the end that can be seen coming miles away. Although director Anderson states in his commentary that the film doesn't rely on the twist so much but the path that leads Trevor to it, there are moments in this film that are often weird and leave you feeling somewhat like Trevor at times and that are all part of this sick journey. Anderson made the right decision in giving the film a muted, drab tone. The best way to describe is that the film looks like how Trevor must feel, Anderson and cinematographer Xavi Giménez captured the film's feel perfectly. "The Machinist" isn't for everyone, it's often slow, frustrating and leaves you feeling tired. If you enjoy a good psychological mind fuck then give this film a shot, as it's got some great performances and the photography is worth the price of admission. If you're looking for something happy, then move along this one's not for you.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 this image comes to Blu-ray in 1080p 24/fps high-definition mastered with AVC MPEG-4 compression. The film's overall aesthetic is deliberately drab, with muted and dull colors representing the palette of the film. The transfer does an decent job of representing the look of the film, sharpness is achieved and blacks levels are excellent. Skin tones are an unhealthy hue of pastiness which is also accurate to the look of the film. While the print is clean, sharp and displays detail well I couldn't help but think it was a little flat. This is the only real problem I had with the picture, otherwise it's an accurate representation of the film.
Audio
Three audio tracks are present here in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixed at 24-bit/48kHz lossless as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its English audio. The film's soundtrack is much like its image, pulled back and very subdued. The dialogue is occasionally soft and requires you to put the volume up a bit, ambient sounds make up the majority of the soundtrack's active mix using the surround channels well but that's about it. As far as an HD track goes it's a little underwhelming but then again the film isn't an action film either so for the purposes of the film it does it's job. Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Extras
Paramount has released this film on Blu-ray with a nice array of supplementary material that includes an audio commentary, three featurettes, a series of deleted scenes and the film's theatrical trailer. Below is a closer look at these supplements. The first extra we have is the feature-length audio commentary by the director Brad Anderson. Not entirely screen-specific however Anderson covers a lot of material here. This comprehensive track deals largely with the script and the difficulty in securing financing for such a bleak story, as well as casting Bale and his amazing transformation into the Trevor Reznik character. Anderson also discusses the challenges of shooting in Spain and making Barcelona look like an American metropolis. Anderson also touches on his influences, comments on the cast, cinematography, the themes of the film and other interesting bits of information. The first of three featurettes is "Manifesting 'The Machinist'" and runs for 23 minutes, this feature includes some good interviews with cast, crew and critics about the film's story and characters and delves into the themes of the film in this interesting clip that's more than just your usual EPK feature. There's actually some substance here (only some though, I would have liked a more expanded look at the scripting process). "'The Machinist:' Hiding in Plain Sight" is the next featurette which runs for 13 minutes 58 seconds, in this clip we get a closer look at the plot and hidden meanings and elements of the film. These are scattered throughout the film that provide keen viewers with hints as to the film's reality among other things. Finally the third of the featurettes is entitled "'The Machinist:' Breaking All the Rules" and runs for 25 minutes 19 seconds. This is the making-of clip as we get a look behind-the-scenes of the production in shooting various key moments from the film and also features more interviews. This is the EPK clip used to market the film during it's theatrical run but unlike many EPK's the backpatting is kept to a minimum and we get to decent look at the production. Next up are a collection of 8 deleted scenes which can ve viewed individually or with a 'play all' option, the scenes are titled and are fairly self explanatory and aren't that interesting it's easy to see why they were omitted from the final cut of the film, they include: - "Trevor Visits Mysterious Grave" which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds. - "Alternate Intersection Crosscut With Burning Paper" which runs for 1 minute 29 seconds. - "Pensive Trevor" which runs for 1 minute 3 seconds. - "Stevie's Mysterious 'John'" which runs for 2 minutes 12 seconds. - "Alternate Chasing Ending" which runs for 43 seconds. - "Trevor Tries To Skip Town" which runs for 43 seconds, this scene includes an optional audio commentary by director Brad Anderson about why the scene was cut. - "Trevor Confronts Mother At Cemetery" which runs for 1 minute 44 seconds, this scene includes an optional audio commentary by director Brad Anderson about why the scene was cut. - "Alternate Version Of Holding Cell" which runs for 1 minute. The final extra on this disc is the film' original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds.
Overall
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