Intense psychological thriller that passes the test.

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2007)

Trevor Reznik looks as if someone has locked him in a room and starved him for months, maybe years. His face and body tell the story of a man is is deeply emotionally stressed. He has not slept for year and comforts himself continually bedding a hooker who has taken a liking to him. He also sits in an airport café in the middle of the night and flirts with the attractive waitress on duty. He works as a machinist where his workmates and superiors worry as to what has transformed Trevor into a walking corpse. Trevor befriends a colleague at work named Ivan, but as events unfold we learn that Ivan may be a figment of imagination in Trevors tortured mind.
It takes at least 2 viewings of The Machinist to truly appreciate the entire story. The final act of the film ties up every loose end and we understand why Trevor has deteriorated in such an intense manner; But with a second viewing some ambiguous scenes make a lot more sense and bring a bigger sense of foreboding to the atmosphere.
The cinematography of the film does a great job of bringing us into Trevors perspective of the world, the atmosphere is dreary and worn, just like Trevor. There are 2 scenes in the film which explore Trevors inner psyche, one of which is the ride in the amusement park. which is wonderfully shot and show first hand the extent of Trevors guilt and how deep it is buried in his mind.
The main highlight of this movie is Christian Bales performance, he pulled out all the stops to nail the Character of Trevor, losing 60 pounds of a 180 pound frame. He genuinely looks disturbing and it brings so much more realism and authenticity to the plot. Its hard to root for such a sick looking protagonist but Bales charisma keeps us enthralled.
The storyline could be panned because of the overuse of alter egos in movies (fight club, adaptation), but i feel, like with those 2 movies, it is necessary to progress the plot and adds to the dreamlike state that Trevor is imprisoned in, giving a much more deeper meaning to the story. A truly great psychological thriller.