The Machinist

THE MACHINIST is the story of Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ability to sleep. In fact, he hasn’t slept for a year… This is no ordinary insomnia…

Yet Trevor won’t seek help. He hides his illness like some dark and shameful secret. Whatever it is that’s wrong with him, he’d rather not know.

Trevor has two women in his life. One is a prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh) he visits in the dead of night. The other is a waitress (Aitana Sánchez-gijón) who moonlights in an airport coffee shop to support an ill child. Trevor sees these women for different reasons. The prostitute satisfies his carnal instincts, the waitress eases his loneliness.

As his insomnia continues, Trevor becomes afflicted by vivid and violent hallucinations. He loses control of his thoughts an actions. He fears he’s going insane. Yet he does his best to hide this from others. After all, he doesn’t want to lose his job.

One day Trevor meets a new employee at the shop. This is Ivan. There’s something repulsive about this man. Something disturbing. That afternoon, Trevor is involved in a shop accident that costs a man his arm. His co-workers blame him for the accident. They feel he has become a liability to others. Now they want him out.

Trevor refuses to resign. He fights to hang onto his job and his sanity. Yet he’s losing his grip. Especially when he’s told that this new employee Ivan doesn’t exist. Is this true? Or is there a plot afoot to force Trevor from the shop?

Now Trevor must find Ivan if he hopes to keep his job (and his sanity). Yet this is no easy task. Ivan is a cunning opponent. And the more Trevor learns about him, the less he wants to know. (filmaffinity.com)

Country   Spain

Year   2004

Duration   100 min.

Director   Brad Anderson

Writer   Scott Kosar

Composers   Roque Baños

Cast   Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Michael Ironside, John Sharian

Genre   Drama. Thriller.

Rating (filmaffinity.com)   7,1

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English audio with Spanish subtitles:

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