The Machinist

Trevor Reznik, a machinist, has lost the ability to sleep. But this is no ordinary insomnia. Trevor has not slept in a year. Fatigue has led to a shocking deterioration of his physical and mental health. Suspicious of his appearance, Trevor’s co-workers first shy away from him, then turn against him after he’s involved in a shop accident that costs a man his arm. They blame Trevor for the accident. He has become a liability to himself and others, and now they want him out.


Plagued with guilt, Trevor’s shame becomes suspicion, then paranoia, when it appears his workmates are conspiring to have him fired –- or worse. First he finds cryptic notes left in his apartment. Next he’s told that a mysterious co-worker involved in the accident doesn’t exist. Are these mysteries part of a plot to drive Trevor mad? Or is it fatigue that’s robbing him of his reason? Determined to find an answer, Trevor investigates the strange occurrences that are turning his world into a sleepless nightmare. Yet the more he learns, the less he wants to know.



PRODUCTION NOTES

To play a tormented, sleep-deprived factory worker, Bale -- normally a robust 6'2" and 180 pounds -- dropped down to a skeletal 120 pounds by "not eating" (Bale's words) and sleeping two hours a night. The effect is shocking and lends an already gripping movie a truly disturbing resonance.



REVIEWS

"Bale, always a nervy, risk-taking actor, gives a haunting performance of fierce concentration that goes beyond his dramatic weight loss."
-- Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES


"The Machinist is a beautifly haunting - chillingly stark - film that places you knee-deep within an oblique nightmarescape a strange and troubled man is experiencing."
-- Emily Blunt, BLUNT REVIEW