The Machinist

Plot

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

Release Year: 2004

Rating: 7.8/10 (114,340 voted)

Critic's Score: 61/100

Director:
Brad Anderson

Stars: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón

Storyline
Trevor Reznik is a lathe-operator who suffers from insomnia and hasn't slept in a year. Slowly, he begins to doubt his sanity as increasingly bizarre things start happening at work and at home. Haunted by a deformed co-worker who no one seems to think exists, and an ongoing stream of indecipherable Post-It notes he keeps finding on his fridge, he attempts to investigate what appears to be a mysterious plot against him and, in the process, embroils two women in his madness.

Cast:

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

Taglines:
How do you wake up from a nightmare, if you're not asleep?

Release Date: 11 November 2004

Filming Locations: Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office Details

Budget: $5,000,000

(estimated)

Opening Weekend: $64,661
(USA)
(24 October 2004)
(3 Screens)

Gross: $1,082,715
(USA)
(7 April 2005)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min
 |
Turkey: 94 min
(TV version)

Did You Know?

Trivia:

The time of 1:30 AM is significant throughout the movie. Trevor often notices something out of the ordinary at this time. During the 1 hour 30 minute mark in the movie, the major plot twist is revealed.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes:
The energy bill that Reznik opens, 20 minutes into the film, shows the unlikely meter number of "123-456789". Presumably it was hoped this would not be spotted with the distraction of the large FINAL NOTICE above it.

Quotes:

[first lines]

Ivan:
Who are you?

User Review

A strong mood piece, but not for everyone

Rating: 8/10


There are many good things about The Machinist that are well deserving
of praise. The very atmospheric nature of the film is supported very
strongly by excellent performances all around. Christian Bale takes
things to the extreme in his embodiment of his character. It is hard to
take seeing him in his near-starvation body mass, which elevates the
tension of this piece even further. The storyline leaves a little to be
desired. While it creates its mood excellently, it does tend to plod
along a little too much.

One thing that does stand out is how reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock
this film plays. Almost everything about the film screams Hitchcock,
from the editing of certain scenes (the driving sequences are very much
in the style of Psycho) to the Bernard Herrmann-esquire score (lots of
bass clarinet), the lack of fully-exploring/revealing some of the
creepier points of the film (what is dripping from the fridge?), and
the washed out, grainy photography. If you want to see what a film
would look like if Hitchcock were alive to film it today, this is the
closest thing you could probably come across. And if that was part of
Brad Anderson's intention in directing this, I have to commend him on
the execution because it is uncanny.

Overall, I would recommend this film, but not to casual movie-goers.
This is very much a movie-phile experience for those who appreciate
character development and cinematography as much as plot points and a
storyline that can be defined and followed from one action to the next.
In that way it is closer to films like Magnolia or the Others, where
the apex is the characters. If you are looking for a typical popcorn
Hollywood thriller, this is not what you are looking for.