Movie Review: The Machinist

The Machinist

When The Machinist was released in late 2004, I remember hearing only a little about it. The movie's very low box office take (a little less than $1 million) seems to be a direct reflection of that lack of publicity. What little I did hear, though, indicated that the film's star, Christian Bale, had given a superlative performance. The fact that he lost a great deal of weight to play the title character also made the entertainment news headlines at the time. In a get-together with a friend and fellow movie buff this weekend, we defaulted to seeing The Machinist largely because it was one of the few available movies that neither of us had seen. Whether borne of coincidence or not, that choice proved to be a good one.

Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is a machinist at a factory. He's also a man with a serious problem: long term insomnia. In fact, Trevor claims he hasn't slept for a year. He may not be exaggerating much. He's lost copious amounts of weight (he's a skeletal 120 on his over six-foot frame), and he's easily confused. He's also rapidly becoming paranoid. But are his problems generated by the extremes of his insomnia, or is there something more concrete behind them? Trevor, as distracted as he may sometimes be, determines to find out.

Trevor's few friends include Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a prostitute with the proverbial heart of gold. Though Trevor pays for her company, he probably wouldn't have to as Stevie has taken an inexplicable liking to the troubled young man. At the same time, a pretty waitress named Maria (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) at an airport coffee shop also offers him a compassionate friendship that includes trying to get him to eat some pie to put a little more meat on his emaciated bones. Trevor's moments with Stevie and Maria are often too short, but they offer the only real light in his long days.

At work, Trevor seems well-liked by most of the men, though not necessarily close to any of them. A new welder on the floor by the name of Ivan (John Sharian) is friendly enough toward Trevor, but Trevor is noncommittal. Then a co-worker named Miller (Michael Ironside) asks for Trevor's assistance while he adjusts some heavy machinery which results in a terrible accident for which Trevor blames himself. Others in the factory seem to agree with Trevor's assessment of blame, and he becomes more of a loner than ever before.

Trevor cares, but not too much. He's obsessed with finding out why certain things are happening in his life, and who is behind those things. Yes, he's paranoid, but at the same time it's shown time and again that he has reason to be. Just when Trevor begins to think there might be someone who can help him unlock the secrets behind his troubles, he finds himself more alone than ever, and sinking even deeper into horror. But as the tag line for the movie says, "How can you wake up from a nightmare if you're not asleep?"

Those of you who know Christian Bale as the impressively buff Batman of Batman Begins will doubtless be shocked to see his appearance in The Machinist. Bale actually starved himself to 120 pounds — no special special effects were used to generate his horrifying weight loss. And it is horrifying. Even if there was nothing more to the movie than a series of scenes of the unclothed Bale, the film would be a horror movie, indeed. But Bale adds a good deal more to Trevor Reznik than his appearance as he provides a truly amazing dramatic performance to go along with it.

Jennifer Jason Leigh personifies a sweet and compassionate woman who gradually becomes confused and then fearful; Michael Ironside is his usual irascible self which serves extraordinarily well as the gruff Miller. Aitana Sánchez-Gijón is good, too, as is the toothy John Sharian. But whatever else is shown onscreen, Bale owns every scene on virtually every level. The horror of the plot is bad enough to be sure, but it's Bale that makes it as awful (and by that I mean well done) as it is.

The direction is lacking in places as is some very confusing editing. While reminiscent in some ways of the brilliant Memento, The Machinist isn't nearly so well handled in its early scenes. At the same time, the director's choice of dark and grey scenery with select splashes of color is perfect; what seems confusing at times will make perfect sense later on; and certainly a director who gets performances on film like the ones you'll see here is formidable indeed.

However it all begins, rest assured that, by the end of The Machinist, all of the best and the worst parts and pieces will come together into one understanding that's both terrible and redeeming in its resolution. The Machinist has its flaws, yes, but its star and its story are not among them. I'd recommend The Machinist to horror fans who appreciate some intelligence over graphic blood loss, as well as to moviegoers who appreciate high level acting and innovative scripts.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: The Machinist is rated R for "violence and disturbing images, [and] sexuality and language." It's no stretch to say that many of the images in The Machinist are more than a little disturbing! This is not a movie for kids in any way, shape, form, or manner. In fact, I'd keep younger teens away from it, too. It's rare that I consider an R rating entirely appropriate, but in this instance, we're talking about a film that really is for adults only. It's dark, but it's also deep, and only some maturity will give an audience the ability to really appreciate what's offered here. If you fit that description and aren't looking for a fluff piece to occupy your mind this weekend, you could do a whole lot worse than to rent The Machinist (available on DVD and VHS since June).