The clinical French thriller La Machine is like a bombastic Hollywood film in structure, but without the Hollywood ending. And what I mean by that, it's a downer. A brutal downer. Pushing the boundaries of science and losing yourself in your work can have unexpected and dire consequences in what is a cautionary tale of the damaging domino affect on not just yourself, but also those around you.
Brain specialist/psychiatrist Marc Lacrox has developed a groundbreaking machine that can transfer parts of the human brain between two people. He's looking to test it out on someone, and that's where he becomes infatuated by one of his patients (a deranged serial killer of the criminally insane). Wanting to cure, and understand his patient the two secretly perform the experiment and it was successful, but to Marc's surprise after the body swap his prisoner decides that he's going to keep Marc's body.
The machine itself gets little screen time, let alone any sort of background, where after the pointless prologue, it gives out a minor rundown on what drives the principal character, a surely performance by Gerard Depaedieu. Early on we watch Marc interact with his chosen patient, philosophical conversations, but once the transformation takes place it becomes hamstrung, dumb and over-the-top. It really does rely on the illogical and ludicrous plotting to sell the high stakes. It left me questioning why would the doctor be so naive and put so much trust in a convicted serial killer, especially when he knows about the man's deteriorating health.
The pulp material does offer up in and out obstacles for the characters, especially the toxic surprise that is awaiting them once they swapped bodies. There it becomes a searing battle of wits between two men. One on the run, desperately trying everything to get his actual body back to reverse the experiment and the other fighting knife happy temptations that saw him put away, while also adapting to his new family life. Honestly not much happens, well not until three quarters in when the two men come face to face again. Then it leads to a couple vicious, bloody attacks and deliriously twisted climax that showed some guts to end the way it did. Good psychologically building first act and a live-wire third act, but what's in between simply goes through the motions.
Brain specialist/psychiatrist Marc Lacrox has developed a groundbreaking machine that can transfer parts of the human brain between two people. He's looking to test it out on someone, and that's where he becomes infatuated by one of his patients (a deranged serial killer of the criminally insane). Wanting to cure, and understand his patient the two secretly perform the experiment and it was successful, but to Marc's surprise after the body swap his prisoner decides that he's going to keep Marc's body.
The machine itself gets little screen time, let alone any sort of background, where after the pointless prologue, it gives out a minor rundown on what drives the principal character, a surely performance by Gerard Depaedieu. Early on we watch Marc interact with his chosen patient, philosophical conversations, but once the transformation takes place it becomes hamstrung, dumb and over-the-top. It really does rely on the illogical and ludicrous plotting to sell the high stakes. It left me questioning why would the doctor be so naive and put so much trust in a convicted serial killer, especially when he knows about the man's deteriorating health.
The pulp material does offer up in and out obstacles for the characters, especially the toxic surprise that is awaiting them once they swapped bodies. There it becomes a searing battle of wits between two men. One on the run, desperately trying everything to get his actual body back to reverse the experiment and the other fighting knife happy temptations that saw him put away, while also adapting to his new family life. Honestly not much happens, well not until three quarters in when the two men come face to face again. Then it leads to a couple vicious, bloody attacks and deliriously twisted climax that showed some guts to end the way it did. Good psychologically building first act and a live-wire third act, but what's in between simply goes through the motions.