Spoiler Review - The Machinist

The film The Machinist is a psychological thriller directed by Brad Anderson. Christian Bales stars in the lead role of Trevor Reznik, an insomniac machinist who hasn't slept in over a year. Christian Bale is a very dedicated actor, losing 29kg to play the lead role. The film is quite a dark suspenseful thriller in which effective dark lighting is used which really sets the mood. Although a low budget film, there is no lack of professionalism in the film.

The first scene of The Machinist is of Reznik dumping a body and we later find out that this is one of the last events of the film, this shows the film  follows a non-linear narrative. It also creates mystery as you wonder why is he dumping the body? What is the reason behind this?


The character Ivan (John Sharian) is quite a mystery throughout the film, he is introduced here early on and his various costumes throughout the film are all dark, this may suggest he is evil. They both meet at work, but when Reznik tells other colleagues about Ivan they all question him, this is the first time the audience see Reznik's sleep deprived state of mind.

The main event the film revolves around is when Reznik accidentally cuts of three of his co-workers fingers, the work place begin to go against him after this. The use of dark lighting on the blood differentiates between horror and thriller. This also begins the pursuing of Ivan from Reznik.

 Trevor Reznik seems to have three main places he goes to for social encounters, one of them being an airport in which he regularly talks to a woman named Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). When seeing her he seems to receive redemption temporary from his chronic sleep deprivation mind, as the effects of this
are not evident when he talks to her.
              
Later on the film it is revealed that Marie is a figure of Reznik's imagination due to his insomnia, and the reality is that he has been coming to another waitress (Nancy Crane).




Another one of the machinists main spots to go to is Stevie (Jennifer Jason Leigh) the call girl. Her constant affection and care for him shows that she wants something  more than money for sex, an actual relationship. As Reznik's imagination takes over from reality he pushes her away.


Trevor then has an accident very similar to Miller, after being saved by his colleagues he then accuses them of being the cause of accident. The use of rhythmic editing with the tension building music matching actions in the scene makes it a very effective technique, especially for a thriller.

A lot of strange notes are continuously left around Reznik's house and the hangman riddle is a very suspenseful aspect in the film. The close-ups on the notes communicate their significance and the importance they are to play. The paper notes are also accompanied by dark musical notes, these also create an enigma.

When Reznik finally succeeds in catching Ivan he kills him, but then realises he has killed no-one, Ivan is not real but a figure of his imagination and is also a by-product of hallucinations.




Finally Reznik goes through self acceptance when looking in the mirror and seeing that he is mentally insane, he is finally struck by the bullet of reality. This is mainly due to the fact then when disposing of Ivan's body he rolls it onto the water by the sea only to see that there is no body there.  

The last scene shows Reznik in acceptance of the need of help hands himself to the law. It is revealed that the fantasy maid - 'Marie' is the mother of a boy Reznik ran over in a hit and run years ago. Judging from his weight in the flashback Reznik was healthy and had regular sleep, the guilt of the hit and run has led to his insomnia.  

The films message I believe Brad Anderson is trying to get across is that everyone has their own stories and problems that cause them to act in certain ways. Through this we see Christian Bale's character transitioning from a normal guy to a sleep deprived paranoid insomniac.

The Machinist is very dark and gloomy, through flashbacks and a non-linear storyline this keeps the suspense and mystery of the film up to the end and this is something expected in a thriller.

I give The Machinist a rating of 4/5 stars.