The Machinist (2004)

An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity.

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writer:

Scott Kosar

Stars:

Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón

10 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Bale	...	Trevor Reznik
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Stevie
Aitana Sánchez-Gijón	...	Marie
John Sharian	...	Ivan
Michael Ironside	...	Miller
Lawrence Gilliard Jr.	...	Jackson (as Larry Gilliard)
Reg E. Cathey	...	Jones
Anna Massey	...	Mrs. Shrike
Matthew Romero Moore	...	Nicholas (as Matthew Romero)
Robert Long	...	Supervisor Furman
Colin Stinton	...	Inspector Rogers
Craig Stevenson	...	Tucker
Ferran Lahoz	...	Gonzales
Jeremy Xido	...	Evangelisti
Norman Bell	...	DMV Clerk

Storyline

Trevor Reznik is a machinist in a factory. An extreme case of insomnia has led to him not sleeping in a year, and his body withering away to almost nothing. He has an obsessive compulsion to write himself reminder notes and keep track of his dwindling weight, both scribbled on yellow stickies in his apartment. The only person he lets into his life in an emotional sense is Stevie, a prostitute, although he has an infatuation with Maria, a single mother waitress working in an airport diner. His co-workers don't associate with and mistrust him because of not knowing what is going on in his life that has led to his emaciated physical appearance. A workplace incident further alienates him with his coworkers, and in conjunction with some unfamiliar pieces of paper he finds in his apartment, Trevor believes that someone or some people - probably one or some of his coworkers - are out to get him, using a phantom employee named Ivan as their front. As Trevor goes on a search for evidence as to...

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Plot Keywords:

insomnia | machinist | post it | sleeping | prostitute | 

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Taglines:

A little guilt goes a long way...

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and disturbing images, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 December 2004 (Spain)

Also Known As:

El maquinista

Filming Locations:

Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$64,661 (USA) (22 October 2004)

Gross:

$1,082,044 (USA) (25 March 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmax Group, Castelao Producciones, Canal+ España

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 94 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

(At 1:06) A bumper sticker on a parked car with the words, "I'd rather be fishing," can be seen when Trevor is hit by a car outside of the DMV.

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Goofs

When playing the game "Hangman", if a correct letter is guessed, all appearances of that letter in the word get filled in. However, about halfway through the movie we see the "Hangman" post-it note with only one 'L' filled in, even though the final answer had two 'L's in it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ivan: Who are you?

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Connections

References The Nun (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Last Call"
Written by Stephen Phillips (as Stephen Robert Phillips)
(c) 615 Music Cathalogue
Authorised by Konga Music, S.L., exclusive subpublisher for Spain
All rights reserved

User Reviews

A Dark and Somber Maze of Altered Reality

THE MACHINIST is a mesmerizing film, a journey through the interstices of a mind deprived of sleep, of nourishment, and a mind that struggles to untangle the chaos of a past of guilt and terror. 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. We don't know why this worker in a machine factory is in such condition: the story unwinds slowly so that by the end we accompany Reznik in his shock to his moment of discovery. It is the getting there that is the tough beauty of this amazingly rich film as written by Scott Kosar and directed by Brad Anderson.

The setting is always dark as though the state of mind is a nightmare. Reznik's meager existence is challenged when he is involved in an industrial accident in which a fellow worker Miller (Michael Ironside) loses an arm. 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. To say more would be a great disservice to the extraordinary plot.

Christian Bale delivers one of the most committed performances on film. He not only physically inhabits Reznik with his skeletal appearance, he also mentally nurtures all the nuances of fear, pain, pleasure and madness that build as his character's reason for a year of insomnia is revealed at the very end. We stand in suspense with him and his fall is as powerful as any Dante ever devised. The entire cast is superb but special kudos go to Jennifer Jason Leigh who finally has a role that allows her to demonstrate the spectrum of skill she possesses as an actress. Not an easy film, this, but a very important one. Highly recommended - but not to see alone! Grady Harp