Steve's Movie Blog

For whatever reason, not many people I know have heard of this movie which surprises me. Especially because I think this movie is on par with a masterpiece like Fight club. Perhaps it's because it was never opened wide release in US theaters. But seeing as how it's been on DVD for about 3 years it still shocks me when people say "The Machinist...I've never heard of it".

Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is an industrial work who has been having trouble sleeping for some time now. His lack of sleep begins to affect his work and accidents begin to happen which create tremendous tension between him and his co-workers. Slowly Trevor begins to become more and more paranoid of everyone around him. A man named Ivan (John Sharian) begins to follow him around at work yet none of Trevor's co-workers have ever met anyone by the name of Ivan. Trevor begins to search for answers to his madness and an intriguing well written story begins to unfold.

Christian Bale's performance is extraordinary. While his weight loss is disturbing (he lost 62 pounds for the role) it shows his devotion toward the characters he plays. Director Brad Anderson does a tremendous job creating an eerie mysterious atmosphere throughout the movie. This is really one of my favorite movies, and if you're a fan of Fight club, Memento, or any other movie that keeps you guessing until the very end, you'll love The Machinist.