Overrated and unsatisfying besides for Bale

Rating: 6/10 (16 February 2008)

I don't really know what to think about this film, it's a scrambled mess with no real plot and an ending which doesn't make much sense. The Machinist is a bad movie but I still have to very mildly recommend it for Bale who gives an outstanding performance. An outstanding performance given to a largely unlikeable character.
The plot centers around Trevor Reznik, an insomniac who is repulsive to look at. He's a loner who follows the same routine, gets coffee at the airport dinner dispensed by his waitress friend Maria, and goes to the same hooker every night. He works at a pitiful looking factory where his coworkers think he is a freak. Trevor loses his grasp on his life and reality when he meets his new coworker Ivan, an eccentric nut who distracts him while he is handling heavy machinery which results in the loss of a coworkers arm. His bosses tell him this Ivan isn't on their payroll and so Trevor desperately tries to prove he is sane.
It doesn't have a plot at all for the most part. It creates a surreal world but this world isn't an interesting or compelling one. It acts if this world sets you up for a big shocker ending but this ending is irrelevant to the rest of the movie besides for a few images throughout the film.
The draw to this movie is Bale. Just looking at him puts you in awe. Never since Lon Chaney has an actor suffered so much for his craft. He should have gotten an Oscar nomination for this film simply for his weight loss. I kind of wished he suffered for a character that was more charismatic and engaging than this Trevor Reznik.