The Machinist

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens up with credits while we hear Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) grappling with something large and heavy. He drives his truck near a dam and would appear to have a body wrapped in a carpet to dispose of. He panics when someone starts to come closer, holding a flashlight. He pushes the carpet down and it starts to unroll. Just then, the man with the flashlight catches up to him and says, "Who are you?"Trevor washes his hands with bleach in his bathroom sink. He looks up at his own gaunt face in the mirror-- stuck to the mirror he sees a post-it note that says "Who Are You?"Trevor is with Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a call-girl. They've finished making love at her place, and Trevor washes up. She pokes fun at his extremely low weight. He creeps her (and the rest of the audience) out by sucking in his stomach and arching his back to show his bones sticking out. He walks out the door, leaving a tip in her jar.Trevor goes to work at an unspecified industrial job where he is a. . . machinist. Trevor has a contentious relationship with the foreman, Tucker, because he likes to quote and apprise his co-workers of OSHA laws that Tucker would prefer to disregard. After work Trevor and his co-workers talk trash in the locker room while changing out of their coveralls. Jones (Reg E. Cathey) invites Trevor to play cards with the boys but Trevor declines, and Jones remarks that Trevor doesn't socialize the way he used to, another clue that all is not right in Trevor's world.Trevor is now at an airport diner, chatting and flirting with a divorced waitress named Marie (Aitana Sánchez Gijón). He takes a look at the clock, which reads 1:30 am. She wants to know why Trevor shows up at the airport so late at night and teasingly asks if he's running away from something. Marie echoes Stevie's concerns about Trevor's skeletal physique: "if you were any thinner, you wouldn't exist." He eventually finds his way back to Stevie. During their pillow talk, he reveals to her that he hasn't slept in one year.One afternoon after work, Trevor goes out for a smoke. While in his truck, he hears someone say that a storm is coming. He looks over and sees a stocky bald man leaning into his window. He introduces himself as Ivan (John Sharian). He says he is a new worker, covering for Trevor's friend, Reynolds.Back on shift, Trevor and his co-worker Miller (Michael Ironside) are fixing a machine. Trevor looks over at Ivan, who makes a throat-slashing gesture. Trevor takes a step back and his shoulder hits a button that turns on the machine. Miller's arm is caught and slowly entering it. They try to turn off the machine and free him, but can't do it in time. Miller's arm is torn from his body, and seen still spinning around in the machine minus Miller. They call for an ambulance and Trevor goes into his boss's office. They ask him what happened. He says Ivan must have distracted him. His boss seems puzzled. They have no employees named Ivan.Trevor sees Ivan leaving in his red sports-car and follows him. He pulls up next to him in traffic and says they need to talk. They go into a bar, where Trevor confronts Ivan with the fact that no one at the factory has ever heard of him. Ivan insists that he does indeed work there and that maybe Trevor's boss and co-workers are playing a joke on him. Ivan also shows Trevor that his own hand was maimed on a machine. After losing his fingers, doctors replaced his thumb with a big toe and his pinky finger with his baby toe, resulting in a grotesque deformity. Ivan excuses himself to go to the restroom, leaving his wallet behind, which Trevor opens. He sees a picture of Ivan and Reynolds fishing. He keeps it as proof that Reynolds knows Ivan.Back at work his co-workers are angry with him, seeing him as a jinx. They say they do not trust him anymore.During the next couple of days Trevor is perplexed when post-its start to appear on his fridge. They resemble a game of 'hangman.' The first has six blanks to fill with letters. Trevor has no idea what is going on. Later on the next day, the blanks read _ _ _ _ E-R.On Mother's Day, Trevor accompanies Marie and her son Nicholas (Mathew Romero Moore) to an amusement park. Marie's cel rings and she excuses herself to talk to the caller, "Probably my ex." Nicholas convinces Trevor to take him on a scary ride called Route 66. The scares become increasingly bizarre and graphic, and at the end of the ride, rapidly flashing lights cause Nicholas to suffer a seizure. Trevor feels terrible about taking Nicholas on the adult ride, but Marie seems quite forgiving about the whole thing and assures Trevor that when Nicholas wakes up, "it will be as if nothing ever happened." They go back to her place and have some wine. He goes to the kitchen and sees that the clock reads 1:30 and there's a Mother's Day card magnetized to the refrigerator that Nicholas gave to Marie. He notices that his handwriting matches the "ER" in his last hangman post-it. When he goes back home, he makes a guess and fills in MOTHER. He looks at an old photo album of his own mother and sees a picture that eerily resembles the one he took of Nicholas and Marie earlier.Back at work, Miller comes by to get his settlement check and seems good-natured about the accident. He tells Trevor that he's very happy with the financial compensation the company has awarded him. However, Trevor almost gets into an accident himself, which nearly costs his arm. He starts to become paranoid, wondering if his co-workers have it out for him. Staring at the hangman's game at his apartment, he makes another guess: MILLER.He visits Miller's home to demand answers. Trevor accuses Miller of trying to get revenge. Miller doesn't understand why Trevor's so upset but eventually he gets tired of Trevor screaming at him, punches Trevor in the gut and tells him to leave. Afterwards Trevor sees Ivan leaving the scene and he pursues him by car, but Ivan escapes. Trevor is starting to believe there is a conspiracy against him.Trevor goes back to Stevie's for sex. Afterwards we can see that they have feelings for each other. After some talking, she tells him she wants to quit hooking and start a relationship with him, which is what Trevor wants as well.He goes back to the airport diner to see Marie. The scene looks much different-- it's now crowded, noisy and dimly lit. The frumpy waitress behind the counter tells Trevor that nobody named Marie works there. Trevor starts to freak out and yells at the waitress and the customers. He accuses them all of playing along in the conspiracy. In the airport parking garage, he spots Ivan driving off again. He slowly tails him.He memorizes Ivan's plate numbers but loses sight of the car in a near accident. He then goes to the Department of Motor Vehicles to see if he can get Ivan's contact information. The DMV won't help him unless he has a criminal complaint to file. Trevor jumps in front of an oncoming car so he can go to the police and pretend to be the victim of a hit and run, giving Ivan's license plate. A detective informs Trevor that the plates belong to a car that was owned by Trevor and reported completely destroyed by him one year before. The cops accuse him of pranking them. Trevor is confused and runs off. The cops give chase through some subway tunnels, but he escapes.Trevor stumbles back to Stevie's. She is dismayed by the extent of his injuries and urges him to see a doctor, which he refuses to do. Stevie is ready to let Trevor move in with her and find a regular job, until Trevor spots the picture of Ivan with Reynolds, and accuses Stevie of plotting against him with Ivan. Stevie tells him the photo is of Reynolds and none other than Trevor himself. She also has no idea who Ivan is. She says that Trevor left the picture after his last visit. Trevor becomes enraged and calls Stevie a whore, to which she replies that Trevor is a psycho and that must be why he avoids doctors. She slaps him and throws him out. He drives back to his apartment building, only to find Ivan and Nicholas already going inside. He follows and has a fight with Ivan. He manages to cut his throat but can't find Nicholas.This puts Trevor back where he was at the beginning of the film. Trevor rolls Ivan's body up in a carpet and tries to dump it, but discovers that when the carpet unravels, it is empty. The man approaching with the flashlight is Ivan. He asks "Who are you?"Back at Trevor's place, he washes his hands with bleach. He sees the post-it that asks "Who are you?" Reflected in the mirror, he can see Ivan standing behind him. Trevor starts to cry.He repeatedly says "I know who you are."In a flashback from more than a year ago, we see a healthy Trevor driving the same red sports car he saw Ivan driving. The time is 1:30 pm. As he approaches an intersection, he tries to light his cigarette and is distracted when he drops the lighter on the floor. He ends up hitting and killing Nicholas as the boy crosses the street. Marie runs to her child. Trevor flees the scene.Back in the present, Trevor completes the hangman game and figures out who he is. It says KILLER. His guilt has caused his insomnia and trip into madness, which created Ivan. He never knew Marie and Nicholas (if those are their real names). He takes a trip downtown to a police station, where he says "I'd like to report a hit and run," and turns himself in.The cops want to know if he wants to make a statement or phone call. He says "Later. I just want to get some sleep right now."As he sits in his cell, he finally starts to doze off. The last image we see is a flashback of a distraught Trevor, driving down a road after the hit and run. Fade to white.

Tags: dark, boring, neo noir, murder, depressing, suspenseful, bleak, psychological, cult, mystery, atmospheric, flashback, psychedelic, revenge

Review:
Every scene has its purpose and that is not often the case in horror and mystery movies.Although the whole cast did a fine job, Christian Bale's terrific performance must be mentioned.
While the previous movie took advantage of our imaginations leaping around a spooky environment, "The Machinist" makes our discomfort palpably visual in Christian Bale's painful to look at body, as his character is ravaged by insomnia and loss of appetite; by the end of the movie it's shocking to see his normally handsome face.
The movie establishes "The Twilight Zone" mood immediately with the soundtrack, which includes generous use of the theremin, as Hitchcock did in "Psycho." The production design is excellent at supporting the mood.The suspense builds and is sustained through to the satisfying conclusion as you genuinely get involved in Bale's efforts to solve the increasingly mysterious happenings around him.
Despite looking like a caricature of a Holocaust victim, Bale creates a full character, from the jocular male camaraderie of the factory where he doesn't quite seem to fit in to responding one beat off to the warmth of the two women in his life, a waitress and a prostitute with the an open heart of gold (played, as usual by Jennifer Jason Leigh, but effectively languid)..
Cathey.'Thinner' meets 'Memento' by way of 'Angel Heart' a la HitchcockThere are a few select actors who have gained or shed weight to make a true transformation on screen but the one that will probably remain imprinted for years to come is the truly shocking display by Christian Bale who lost a whopping 63 lbs.
to a skeletal shell of 120 for his portrayal of dank creepy perfection.Bale stars as the afflicted Trevor Reznik, a shell of a man who works in a machine factory and apparently is nursing some horrible demon that has led to his astonishing appearance, ghostly pallor and paranoia soaked delusions that call to question his amazing confession: How can a man not sleep for an entire year and waste away to a shadow of his being and keep his sanity?The answer isn't so transparent as Reznik becomes submerged in some sort of dreamscape nightmare of conspiracy theories and the innate distrust of his own mind playing tricks on him one night when he encounters the perpetually grinning Ivan (Sharian sporting the sharkiest Cheshire Cat smile in recent film memory) an apparently new shift employee who distracts him to the point of a horrific accident that causes his employer and co-worker to mistrust him and suspect his deteriorating looks as something a tad more sinister.Reznik's only solace is in literally a mother-whore relationship he shares with a well-meaning lovely waitress (Sanchez-Gizon) at the airport diner he frequents as much as the hooker he lies with to express his thoughts and odd happenings (Leigh in her umpteenth whore role that must have filled her quota by now).
After the accident Reznik is plagued with a series of Post-Its sporting a game of hangman that leads to a few clues to his rationale and ultimately to his fate of 'Who Am I?'Directed by Anderson who helmed the criminally underrated spooky horror flick 'Session 9' a few years back returns to a dark story of a man clearly unraveling and destroying himself in the process that echoes Stephen King's 'Thinner' by way of the identity crises of 'Memento' and the psychological thriller 'Angel Heart' yet invokes a sharply executed script by Scott Kosar (who penned the worthy remake of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' last year) that recalls David Fincher meets David Lynch paroxysms of fate and the build up to a discovery that is all too recognizable to the thriller genre in recent years of identity masked as phobic reality with its latter day Hitchcock everyman skewed nicely.
And the journey is terrifying.When the film opens we meet Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) or at least the emaciated, tortured remains of a man who hasn't slept for a year.
Shocked by the accident (for which Reznik feels responsible) the various few people in his life seem supportive: a hooker named Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a waitress in an airport all night diner Marie (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón), and an ambiguous bald man Ivan (John Sharian) who appears to Reznik in strange ways.Reznik's mind slowly disintegrates into paranoid delusions, the only way he can hold his life together is by post-its reminding him first of his documented progressive weight loss, then of his needs, then of his secret mystery.
And Christian Bale, in his best character, a new Raskolnikov, know to give a great sense of truth to Trevor Reznik.
The Machinist is a deeply dark and disturbing movie that sees Christian Bale as a worker in an industrial factory.
Bale's stick-like, ill appearance adds immensely to the film and if director Brad Anderson hadn't got himself such a dedicated performer in Christian Bale, The Machinist wouldn't have been half the film it is.
Impressive, because of this great actor Christian Bale that deserved a nomination to the Oscar for his excellent performance in the role of Trevor Reznik plus his effort to lose 63-pound weight to become the "walking skeleton" required by the screenplay.
After a serious accident where his neglect sees a co-worker lose a arm, he becomes haunted by his guilt and he begins to find cryptic notes in his flat, while he is stalked by man, wherever he goes.Brad Anderson creates and sustains a very creepy and dark Ora throughout the film; filling it with haunting imagery and clever camera work.
He is excellently supported by Jennifer Jason Leigh, a prostitute who seems to be the only one he can trust.The Machinist is truly compulsive viewing and despite similarities to the feel of Fight Club and the structure of Memento; this film does stand alone on it's own merits.8/10.
Bale might be drawing most of the attention to him, but there still are some supportive roles that are definitely worth mentioning, like Jennifer Jason Leigh as the warm-hearted prostitute who comforts Trevor and Michael Ironside as his co-worker.
You will spend most of the time trying to figure out Reznik(who Bale plays with perfection) His skeletal figure and insomnia will leave you to question everything he does.Midway through the movie it picks up and the conclusion leaves you greatly satisfied with all questions answered and all previous actions having purpose.Well worth a viewing..
Trevor's mind starts to become unravelled and his grip on reality is tested when a mysterious and obnoxious stranger named Ivan (John Sharian) seems to be deliberately making his life difficult.The pace of the film is rapid and does not hold back on throwing key plot elements into the mix right from the outset.
Because of its frenetic energy and relentless need for attention, this outing by director Brad Anderson (Largely unknown prior to this project, having being mainly involved in TV work) will test most peoples ability to take in all it has to offer in one sitting.What sets this film apart from other titles I've watched this year is the sheer quality of both its acting and its direction.
An excellent supporting cast only works to strengthen the impact of the characters further with Jennifer Jason Leigh playing the tart with a heart to perfection.Anderson's direction is deliberately basic (most of the film takes place in a handful of locations) but is utterly engrossing and proves to be a grounded but emotionally involving nerve shredder.For those of you who enjoy tense, dark and overall entertaining thrillers, this film comes highly recommended and is guaranteed to keep you thinking as the credits roll.For those of you who like your films straightforward enough to be able to watch over a Chinese while you decide what to do at the weekend, this probably isn't for you.Overall rating: 9/10 (Because its initial complexity may put some people off).One-minute summary: Great film, Great script, Great twists.
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.
This is a very good, if not excellent, psychological thriller that may suffer a bit from a "too little, too late" syndrome as well as a slight emotional disconnect with the viewer.Christian Bale is Trevor Reznick (the name seems to be a pun on the man who is Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor).
Either if you like him or you think of him as a mediocre actor, you will love his performance in The Machinist.Brad Anderson is one of those directors who hasn't done anything bad so far.
not just that he looks so broken with the dozen pounds he lost but he has the same way of going to your heart because he has this soft and broken and lost look in his eyes which makes the end of this movie as dramatic and heart-breaking as "Session 9"."The machinist" is about a heavy machine operator played by Christian Bale who suffers from insomnia and has his reality breaking down on him, seeing strange characters, eerie notes on his refrigerator and getting paranoid with all his surrounding seeming to turn against him.
I have to admit I rated Christian Bale purely on American Psycho (which I thought was awful), but I decided to give the guy another chance after reading some good reviews on this film.I picked up the DVD for a bargain £4 and it was just about the best £4 I have ever spent.Intriguing, never boring, superbly acted - Bale shocked me, I had no idea of his acting capabilities....his appearance in the film was disturbing, though clearly that was intentional - hats off to the fella for losing so much weight and being so utterly convincing as an anorexic.I don't want to spoil it for anyone so won't go into any great detail, but this is so worth a watch - great twist for the ending too, it pulled it back for me 100% because the last 15 or 20 minutes had become a little dreary and that is the only reason I didn't give this 10/10 Watched it twice since and there are 1 or 2 things I don't pick up on the 1st time round, so if you have only ever watched this film once I implore you to watch it at least one more time.
But that is just my personal experience.My advice to you is to see this movie if you can tolerate ambiguity and like a mystery thriller..a feeling of uncertainty as the clues come together in the end for a brutal and shocking revelation that tears me up inside every time I see Bale nail the end scene perfectly.
Starring Christian Bale (The Prestige, Batman Begins) in a stunning and powerful performance, The Machinist is a real workout for your brain that will leave you feeling drained by the time the conclusion rolls around.Trevor Reznik (Bale) is not your every day man.
After a horrible exchange with a co-worker (Michael Ironside), we see him begin to doubt everything from the loyalties of his friends to his own existence.The stand outs of the film are Christian Bale and Brad Anderson, the star and director.
Christian Bale proves just how talented and dedicated an actor he is in this film by transforming his normally huge and muscular frame (see Batman Begins or Reign of Fire to understand it) into the beyond skinny man that is Trevor Reznik.
I have to admit, the ending was a bit disappointing but it cleared out most of the mystery, making you understand a lot of scenes which were inexplicable at the time they occurred.Overall, I was expecting a different type of movie, a different course of events especially when I saw that Christian Bale played the main act, so the disappointment was too hard to bare..
The story ambles along laden with foreshadowing and clues keeping the viewer involved in the mystery.Not much needs to be said except "Brilliant." Well constructed and nuanced atmospheric film that will be viewed 50 years from now and not lose anything; maybe only to be elevated as an example of filmmaking at its best.It's easy to draw a parallel to Hitchcock; but maybe it is closer to the truth that The Machinist is a movie that he would have evolved to make if he had lived longer.
Miller operating the mill gets his arm cut off, and results in a major accident (Michael Ironside is good here as working class Miller).Jennifer Jason-Leigh is the sometime girlfriend/hooker of Trevor who at first seems to want to help.In the meantime, Reznik spends time "escaping" by talking to Marie, a waitress at the airport (this was filmed in downtown L.A. according to the directors comments).
The supporting cast are great and Michael Ironside is always entertaining whatever his role.The film concentrates on the psychological aspect of Bale's character in a way that the viewer can almost experience his decline.
He hasn't been sleeping well and things get more complicated for him once Ivan is introduced into his life.Christian Bale gives one hell of a performance as the tortured soul Trevor Reznik.
Despite his creepy appearance and slightly off behavior, you still love him and want to give him a big hug, but not too hard because you might break him in half he's so thin.He's got a great supporting cast as well, but the truth is, this is Bale's movie, and the film pretty much hinges on his performance and the creepy feel created by director Brad Anderson, and the interesting plotting due to Scott Kosar's script..
The story is complex to where it keeps you wondering until the end, but never becomes confusing.The film benefits from great supporting performances from Sharian as the strange newcomer who seems to tie it all together, as well as from Jennifer Jason Leigh as a prostitute who is essentially Reznick's only real friend.
Taking heed of the advice of my good friend and IMDb correspondent "The Oscillator," I searched out a DVD copy of THE MACHINIST and was rapt in suspense from beginning to end.Christian Bale plays an emaciated Trevor Reznik who after a year of insomnia starts to lose his mind.
However, the sheer intensity of Christian Bale's performance and peril, paired with a delicate touch with the psychological symbolism, make this a satisfying example of art cinema.Half the fun of this movie is figuring out what's going on, so I won't reveal the concrete plot, other than to say Bale's year-long insomnia provides a perfect backdrop for a journey through the chambers of the main character's mind.
You can never be sure when what you're seeing is actually happening, or a hallucinating, r.e.m. sleep-deprived brain.Besides an outstanding turn by Christian Bale (who dropped a record 63 pounds for his role), the film features Jennifer Jason Leigh playing arguably her most common role, a prostitute.
Following a gruesome accident at work in which another of Reznik's colleagues suffers the odd severed hand (good as always Michael Ironside), Trevor proceeds to finally lose it to the point of endangering relationships with the few people who can still tolerate his eccentricity, like golden-hearted prostitute Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), a kind waitress Trevor confides in during his ceaseless bouts with insomnia.The movie's basic premise brings to mind other entries in the genre, alluding to a crisis of being and questions regarding the very essence of supposed realities.
You knew that you were in for a completely different ride just from seeing the promos of Christian Bale and the unhealthy gaunt transfomation he made to portray Trevor Reznik; a insomniac, machinist who hasn't seen a wink of sleep in a year.
Like a gnat buzzing around the great bodies of work of Hitchcock, Scorsese, Polanski and Lynch, it will quickly vanish into obscurity, receive zero Academy Award nominations this year (despite, or rather because of Bale's 60- pound weight loss), and that will be the end of it ("The Machinist").Better luck next time, Brad.
And you can never go wrong with Jennifer Jason Leigh, another favorite.....I really enjoyed this movie, but I never ever want to see beautiful Christian Bale look like that again, ever!!!!!!!!.
The suspense and atmosphere really builds up and keeps you gripped.Christian Bale was absolutely incredible in this film, he played the role of Trevor Reznik perfectly.
"The Machinist" is a superior psychological thriller starring Christian Bale as a man who hasn't slept for a year and who is almost a walking skeleton.Bale is simply brilliant in the role of Trevor Reznik - his weight loss for this film is shocking, especially in view of his beefed-up condition for "Batman Begins".Genre fans will be also be pleased to see Jennifer Jason Leigh and Michael Ironside in this strong thriller.The film looks brilliant, a canvas of washed-out colours, and it keeps the viewer guessing all the way through as to what exactly is going on.
The machinist is one of the best thrillers from the last years.Brad Anderson directed Session 9 before this movie and that's a great thriller with a lot of surprises and some excellent disturbing images.The machinist is a great thriller too and it has a lot of surprises too.But I think that The machinist is better than Session 9.All the time I could feel the paranoia that Trevor(the main character)has.Christian Bale made a perfect performance.The film is slow,but never boring.I have to say that this is a great thriller and an example for thrillers.More thrillers should be like this one.A must see..
Christian Bale (Batman Begins) rocks in the Brad Anderson (Session 9) film about a man (Trevor) who not only hasn't slept in a year, but is losing weight because of it and looks like he has an eating disorder.