Movies Like The Machinist (2004)

The Machinist is a 2004 drama, thriller film from Brad Anderson with a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Se7en and Le Trou.

Drama Thriller

Se7en

1995

Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.

8.4

MagicScore

Le Trou

1960

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

8.2

MagicScore

Elizabeth Is Missing

2019

Maud's best friend Elizabeth has disappeared, but as she tries to solve the mystery, dementia threatens to erase all the clues, giving the search a poignant urgency.

7.3

MagicScore

Made in Dagenham

2010

A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

6.7

MagicScore

Black Legion

1937

When a hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he is seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence.

6.6

MagicScore

Flowing

2022

In the past few days Rome has been the scene of a singular event: when it rains, the manholes exhale a dense steam whose origin and composition is unknown. No one can imagine that whoever breathes in the mysterious substance will have to deal with what he/she represses, their darkest instincts, their anger. Not even the Morel family.

6.3

MagicScore

The Fugitive

1993

Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.

7.5

MagicScore

Bad Day at Black Rock

1955

One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.

7.3

MagicScore

Le Notti Bianche

1957

A middle-aged man meets a young woman who is waiting on a canal bridge for her lover's return.

7.4

MagicScore

#10

The Idiot

1951

A gentle, war-shattered ex-soldier, Kinji Kameda, arrives in wintry Hokkaidō and is pulled into a volatile tangle of love and pity between the disgraced Taeko Nasu, the proud Ayako, and his possessive friend Akama. Kameda’s saintly compassion exposes everyone’s wounds, steering the quartet toward jealousy, violence, and inexorable tragedy. Adapted from Dostoevsky’s novel.

7.0

MagicScore

#11

The Idiot

1958

The film is based on the first part of the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from Switzerland, where he was treated in a psychiatric clinic. On the train, on the way to St. Petersburg, the prince meets Parfyon Rogozhin, who tells him of his passionate love for Nastasya Filippovna, the former containment woman of the millionaire Totsky. In St. Petersburg, the prince finds himself in the house of his distant relative – Lizaveta Yepanchina (General's wife), meets her husband, their daughters, as well as the Secretary of General – Ganya Ivolgin. The portrait of Nastasya Filippovna, accidentally seen on the general’s table, makes a great impression on the prince...

6.4

MagicScore

#12

The One-Armed Swordsman

1967

A noble swordsman, whose arm had been chopped off, returns to his former teacher to defend him from a villainous gang of rival swordsmen.

6.8

MagicScore

#13

Lasso

2017

The story of Simon and Kit, two young leaders of an Active Senior adventure tour group that take a day trip out to a small-town Rodeo located deep in the woods. Their lives are turned upside down when they find themselves fighting to stay alive against a group of psycho, bloodthirsty cowboys from the local rodeo.

6.2

MagicScore

#14

The Photograph

2020

When famed photographer Christina Eames dies unexpectedly, she leaves her estranged daughter, Mae, hurt, angry and full of questions. When Mae finds a photograph tucked away in a safe-deposit box, she soon finds herself delving into her mother's early life -- an investigation that leads to an unexpected romance with a rising journalist.

6.3

MagicScore

#15

Mother's Day

2016

Sandy is a stressed-out, single mom who learns that her ex-husband is marrying a younger woman. Her friend Jesse's parents don't know that she has a family or that her sister, Gabi is married to a woman. Jesse's friend, Kristin, is juggling motherhood of a toddler, a patient boyfriend who keeps proposing, and searching for her biological mother. Bradley is a widower who's trying to raise two daughters on his own, while Miranda is too busy with her career to worry about children. When their respective problems intersect and start coming to a head, the Mother's Day holiday takes on a special meaning for all.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

Loggerheads

2005

A troubled woman seeks out the child she gave up for adoption; a gay motel owner takes in a handsome drifter; and the wife of a preacher frets that a gay couple has moved in across the street. All of their lives will intersect as Loggerheads subtly draws out their secret losses and desires.

5.8

MagicScore

#17

Mothering Sunday

2021

On a warm spring day in 1924, house maid and foundling Jane Fairchild finds herself alone on Mother's Day. Her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Niven, are out and she has the rare chance to spend quality time with her secret lover. Paul is the boy from the manor house nearby, Jane's long-term love despite the fact that he's engaged to be married to another woman, a childhood friend and daughter of his parents' friends. But events that neither can foresee will change the course of Jane's life forever.

5.4

MagicScore

#18

Mothers and Daughters

2016

Interwoven stories of what it is to be a mom seen through the lens of photographer Rigby Gray.

5.3

MagicScore

#19

Funny Games

1997

Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.

7.3

MagicScore

#20

Acrimony

2018

Faithful wife Melinda, who is tired of standing by her devious husband Robert, is enraged when it becomes clear she has been betrayed. That's when she lost it, and now she cannot let it go.

6.7

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Machinist?

The top films similar to The Machinist by MovieMagicScore are Se7en (8.4), Le Trou (8.2), Elizabeth Is Missing (7.3). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Machinist worth watching?

The Machinist holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10 from 5,880 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Machinist?

The Machinist (2004) is a drama, thriller film directed by Brad Anderson, starring Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Machinist?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Se7en Movies like Le Trou Movies like Elizabeth Is Missing Movies like Made in Dagenham Movies like Black Legion Movies like Flowing

About movies like The Machinist

This ranked list pairs The Machinist (2004), a drama and thriller film from Brad Anderson, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Christian Bale take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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