Good and very disturbing psychological thriller

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2005)

"The Machinist" belongs to a special branch of film, where we know from the beginning that the main character is somewhat disturbed (and who wouldn't be with a deeply oppressive working environment and hardly any sleep or food?) but are forced to view everything through his viewpoint. This creates a deeply unpleasant atmosphere, where you are never quite sure what to believe. It is the mark of a good director (and writer) that we are drawn to the movie anyhow and never give up on or lose interest in finding out what is actually happening. Needless to say, Christian Bale is amazing as Trevor Reznick - forget about the weight he lost for the part, I am talking about the credibility of the role.