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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer (WGA):
Scott Kosar (written by)
Release Date:
11 November 2004 (Germany) more
Tagline:
How do you wake up from a nightmare, when you're not asleep? more
Plot:
An industrial worker who hasn't slept in a year begins to doubt his own sanity full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
7 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(72 articles)
Harry Brown – Martyn’s Review
(From FilmShaft.com. 11 November 2009, 3:07 AM, PST)
Afm '09: Filmax Heads to 'Tranquility Valley'
(From Bloody-Disgusting.com. 9 November 2009, 5:36 PM, PST)
User Comments:
A Dark and Spooky Psychological Thriller more (372 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Christian Bale | ... | Trevor Reznik |
 | Jennifer Jason Leigh | ... | Stevie |
 | Aitana Sánchez-Gijón | ... | Marie |
| John Sharian | ... | Ivan |
 | Michael Ironside | ... | Miller |
 | Larry 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 |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Machinist (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence and disturbing images, sexuality and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
101 min | Turkey:94 min (TV version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
New Zealand:M | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Spain:18 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | Hungary:18 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:18+ | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:18A (video rating)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Roque Baños' score is a deliberate homage to the work of Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock's favorite composer. There is also a nod to Miklós Rózsa in the use of the theremin which Rozsa employed to Oscar-winning effect for his score to Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) in 1945. more
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When playing "Hangman," a part of the body is drawn only after a wrong letter has been guessed; in the movie, Trevor draws a body part before filling in a letter. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Batman: The Journey Begins (2005) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Broadway Lights more
FAQ
Why did he wash his hands with bleach?What is the actual plot of this film?
Who is Ivan?
more
more (372 total)
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"The Machinist" demonstrates that "Session 9" wasn't the only creepy thriller that Brad Anderson could do.
While M. Night Shyamalan and commercial fare like "The Grudge" get the attention and the big bucks, Anderson is quietly mastering disturbing, psychologically scary shockers. 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.
But all the focus on his astounding weight loss takes away from the other elements in the almost black and white film that make it a scare fest. 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. Even though you are pretty sure he could be hallucinating, you are intrigued to figure out the trigger.
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).