Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- thoughtful
- grounded
- reflective
- quiet evening
- reflective weekend viewing
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Nick abandons his marketing career and gives up unnecessary possessions in an effort to escape overwhelming debt.
Nick sheds his possessions and focuses on repairing an old bicycle as an alternative to conventional financial recovery.
The plot turns a marketing worker's debt crisis and bicycle project into a search for freedom, purpose, and self-definition.
Nick has a job and serious relationship yet remains financially overwhelmed and vulnerable to homelessness.
Films like A Simple Machine, and why
Bicycle Thieves
shares economic precarity, a bicycle-centered struggle, and humanist dramatic storytelling
The Pursuit of Happyness
shares debt, threatened homelessness, perseverance, and an accessible inspirational drama format
Nomadland
shares financial insecurity, minimalist reinvention, and reflective contemporary American drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Mark Alan Hoffman
- Release Date
- 2025-06-07
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (1)
Cast
- Richard Blackmon
- Gabriella Quezada
- Brad Carter
- Smack Louis
- Shannon K. Dunn
- Zoey Domino
- Monica Graves
- Mary Cavaliere
- Sharva Maynard
- Stephanie Fodor
Common questions
- What is A Simple Machine about?
- A debt-ridden young marketer risks his career, relationship, and housing to rebuild an old bicycle and invent a simpler route back to freedom.
- What is A Simple Machine like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of A Simple Machine as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is A Simple Machine violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in A Simple Machine.
- Which films are like A Simple Machine?
- Films with a similar feel include Bicycle Thieves, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Nomadland.
- How long is A Simple Machine?
- A Simple Machine runs 97 minutes.
