For optimal impact, don't sleep for a week, then see this.

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2004)

THE MACHINIST is a film from director Brad Anderson (Session 9, if haven't seen it, you suck) I've been looking forward to for quite a while. Christian Bale plays a machinist who hasn't slept in a year, and has withered away to about 120 pounds. This is not a special effect! Christian Bale actually got to that state. He's basically skin stretched loosely over bones. Extremely gross. As his mind begins to break down, the machinist starts to imagine a sinister plot against him, and his world starts to fall apart.
First, I wanna say that Christian Bale dedication to this role was amazing. For anyone who has been an insomniac, he played it accurately, though the idea that he hadn't slept AT ALL in a year, was totally unbelievable. I imagined instead that the director meant he hadn't had a night of sleep in an entire year.
I was expecting a psychological horror film, much like Session 9, but The Machinist is more of a thriller than a horror. Perfectly executed, it surprised me as the story came to it's conclusion. As anyone who knows me, that's a feat not easily accomplished. There's not much else I can say without giving anything away. If I had any criticism, it would be that there were too few thrills and the film would have been greatly improved with a IRREVERSIBLE style soundtrack. This film was made all the better by having not slept properly all week, and racing around all weekend to see films. I was struggling to stay awake during the movie, which I have to recommend is the state to watch it in. (8/10)