The Machinist is a 2004 psychological drama directed by Brad Anderson, starring our very own Dark Knight, Christian Bale. Known for movies like The Prestige, Batman Trilogy, American Psycho and American Hustle, Bale has carved a wonderful niche for himself, where he is respected for his performances and known for choosing the best scripts. The Machinist is written by Scott Kosar, who has written movies like The Crazies (2010), The Amityville Horror (2005) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). All movies have been well received. The movie also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
and John Sharian in pivotal roles. Brad Anderson is mostly known for his psychological thriller such as Vanishing on 7th Street (2010), Transsiberian (2008), The Call (2013), along with a lot of Television work. Anderson started off with comedies, for which he was well received.
Trevor Reznik is an machine operator (or a machinist) in a factory, who hasn't slept in a year, leading to his body being reduced to nothing. One day, due to distraction caused by a mysterious new co-worker, Ivan (John Sharian), an accident is caused which results in a co-worker of his losing a hand. He begins to find a mysterious Post-it on his fridge, with a hang-man puzzle on it (which eventually completes itself in the end). To calm himself down, he visits a prostitute called Stevie, with who, he shares a personal bond. Sometime later, he also strikes up a conversation with a female bartender at the airport lounge, which leads to him going out with her and her son to a theme park, where Reznik discovers that the kid is epileptic. All the while, he attempts to talk to Ivan, but in vain. Somewhere during the movie, he sees Ivan following him in a car. He notes down the number of the car, visits the DMV to find out more info about the car. The DMV clerk refuses to divulge information unless a crime has been committed. Reznik then throws himself in front of a vehicle in order to get info about Ivan. The result is pretty interesting.
The whole movie is based in an unreal setting. It's one of those movies which start at the end, like Fight Club. (Well, almost at the end, in this case). Another important aspect in this movie, is the repeation of the biblical paradigm of two ways, one leading to hell and the second leading to salvation. Reznik always ends up taking the left path, up until the climax, where he makes the right choice. In fact, after seeing the movie, I strongly recommend a visit to the IMDb page of the movie, in order to discover some wonderful aspects which might've slipped past during the initial viewing.
Another thing I must absolutely point out, is the amount of hard-work Christian Bale has put in for this role. Batman Trilogy and Prestige may be more well known, but this is one role he will be most remembered for. The Machinist is succeeded by Reign of Fire and Batman Begins, both action-oriented movies. The fact that Bale reduced himself from his normal weight to a frame wherein his bones were visible to normal back again, in a span of two years, shows the amount of commitment this actor has.
Another note-worthy mention is of the producer/distributor of this movie, Filmax entertainment, a Spanish production company, who would later go on to produce the Rec series of Spanish horror movies. Filmax, though very young, is known to produce ground-breaking cinema, both in Spain and world-over. So next time, if you see a movie made by Filmax, go for it!
Why to see? A great combo of Brad Anderson and Scott Kosar, which has resulted in a wonderful and gripping movie. Christian Bale's hard-work (both on-screen and off-screen) in order to put life in the character, is perhaps a role which can be counted with the likes of Heath Ledger's Joker. After the second point, I don't think there's anything else left to be said.
As William Golding in Lord Of The Flies says, Man has demons living inside him, bound by the locks of civilization. One of the demons he is referring to, is the conscience. One's conscience, is a life within ourselves. It is the single most powerful being, after God, which can make us do things we never thought we were capable of.
Trevor Reznik is an machine operator (or a machinist) in a factory, who hasn't slept in a year, leading to his body being reduced to nothing. One day, due to distraction caused by a mysterious new co-worker, Ivan (John Sharian), an accident is caused which results in a co-worker of his losing a hand. He begins to find a mysterious Post-it on his fridge, with a hang-man puzzle on it (which eventually completes itself in the end). To calm himself down, he visits a prostitute called Stevie, with who, he shares a personal bond. Sometime later, he also strikes up a conversation with a female bartender at the airport lounge, which leads to him going out with her and her son to a theme park, where Reznik discovers that the kid is epileptic. All the while, he attempts to talk to Ivan, but in vain. Somewhere during the movie, he sees Ivan following him in a car. He notes down the number of the car, visits the DMV to find out more info about the car. The DMV clerk refuses to divulge information unless a crime has been committed. Reznik then throws himself in front of a vehicle in order to get info about Ivan. The result is pretty interesting.
The whole movie is based in an unreal setting. It's one of those movies which start at the end, like Fight Club. (Well, almost at the end, in this case). Another important aspect in this movie, is the repeation of the biblical paradigm of two ways, one leading to hell and the second leading to salvation. Reznik always ends up taking the left path, up until the climax, where he makes the right choice. In fact, after seeing the movie, I strongly recommend a visit to the IMDb page of the movie, in order to discover some wonderful aspects which might've slipped past during the initial viewing.
Another thing I must absolutely point out, is the amount of hard-work Christian Bale has put in for this role. Batman Trilogy and Prestige may be more well known, but this is one role he will be most remembered for. The Machinist is succeeded by Reign of Fire and Batman Begins, both action-oriented movies. The fact that Bale reduced himself from his normal weight to a frame wherein his bones were visible to normal back again, in a span of two years, shows the amount of commitment this actor has.
Another note-worthy mention is of the producer/distributor of this movie, Filmax entertainment, a Spanish production company, who would later go on to produce the Rec series of Spanish horror movies. Filmax, though very young, is known to produce ground-breaking cinema, both in Spain and world-over. So next time, if you see a movie made by Filmax, go for it!
Why to see? A great combo of Brad Anderson and Scott Kosar, which has resulted in a wonderful and gripping movie. Christian Bale's hard-work (both on-screen and off-screen) in order to put life in the character, is perhaps a role which can be counted with the likes of Heath Ledger's Joker. After the second point, I don't think there's anything else left to be said.
As William Golding in Lord Of The Flies says, Man has demons living inside him, bound by the locks of civilization. One of the demons he is referring to, is the conscience. One's conscience, is a life within ourselves. It is the single most powerful being, after God, which can make us do things we never thought we were capable of.
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