The Machinist Critic Reviews
Metascore®:
Based upon 13 Critic ReviewsHighest Rated
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- Favorite Critics
A brilliantly honed tale of dementia, starring a skeletal Christian Bale as a tormented insomniac wasting away and terrorized by his irreal existence.Read the full review
Psychological suspense at its finest.Read the full review
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.Read the full review
The film presents a compelling portrait of mental illness, but looking at Bale may make audiences feel as though they're watching a documentary.Read the full review
Director Brad Anderson tightens the screws of suspense, but it's Bale's gripping, beyond-the-call-of-duty performance that holds you in thrall.Read the full review
A harrowing experience for those to whom this sort of story appeals.Read the full review
Not quite stunning enough to live up to a boldly bleak and unrelenting buildup.Read the full review
An intense, precision-controlled psychological mystery built around a very creepy lead performance by Christian Bale.Read the full review
Give Anderson credit for at least sustaining a mood. This is the kind of all-or-nothing movie in which a filmmaker probably can't waver from his tone.Read the full review
May be an expertly manipulated exercise in psychological horror, but that's all it is. Don't look for the kind of metaphoric weight you'd find in a movie by David Lynch or David Fincher.Read the full review
