Day 5: "The Machinist"

How do you feel after a long night of positively no sleep, or how about going a couple of days without being able to close your eyes for just a minute. The next day or so you probably feel very groggy, not able to remember small details or even begin to see things that don't exist. With all that said, imagine how Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) felt without a full year of sleep. In Brad Anderson's film The Machinist, you are taken into Trevor Reznik's mysterious and creepy life, one no ordinary person would want to live.

Reznik, who works in a metal foundry is suffering from an extreme case of insomnia. He literally hasn't slept in a year and his lack of sleep has also brought deep depression and fatigue. His body has diminished intensely leaving him to look like a skeleton. To make matters worse, Reznik is now troubled by two new elements. The first, a new acquaintance he meets at work who goes by the name of Ivan. The other, a series of mysterious sticky notes that are left on his refrigerator concluding in an eerie game of hangman.

Furthermore, Reznik is involved in a serious accident at at his job that causes one of the workers to lose his arm. After the accident, paranoia begins to set in as Reznik senses his workmates trying to get him fired. Trevor resorts to late night cleaning of his apartment consisting of scrubbing his bathroom floor with a toothbrush over and over again. This doesn't help much, as it only makes Reznik's suspicious mind more active. As the movie comes to a close, Trevor Reznik's life goes though an absolute world-win. Is he really the culprit of a conspiracy theory traveling though his acquaintances or is his lack of sleep and paranoia playing games with his mind. What is real and what isn't? Who can he trust and who shouldn't he? The questions all lie withing Ivan, the mysterious man he meets, the strange sticky notes left on his refrigerator, and Trevor himself.

Through all of the plot twists and exciting details of the script, the biggest factor within the movie is Christian Bale. His performance in The Machinist is one of the best we have seen from him yet. Bale committed himself to the role and lost 60 pounds before filming the movie to bring the character to life. So many times we have heard of actors transforming themselves in real life to play a character in a fictional world, but Bale's ability to put himself in a spot that could have actually been life threatening and still deliver a powerful performance is beyond amazing.

Trust me when I say Brad Anderson has created one of the best psychological thrillers of the past decade. Take the time to watch this movie and you will not be disappointed, not even the slightest bit.

Favorite Quote: "You can't die! You're my best client, I can't afford to lose your business."