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The Machinist |  | Director: Brad Anderson
Actors: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, John Sharian, Michael Ironside
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy Used: $2.04
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Rating:  224 reviews
Sales Rank: 8009
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 101 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D344144D
ISBN: 1415711623
UPC: 097363441441
EAN: 9781415711620
ASIN: B0007Y08QA
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Release Date: June 7, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
As a bleak and chilling mood piece, The Machinist gets under your skin and stays there. Christian Bale threw himself into the title role with such devotion that he shed an alarming 63 pounds to play Trevor Reznik (talk about "starving artist"!), a factory worker who hasn't slept in a year. He's haunted by some mysterious occurrence that turned him into a paranoid husk, sleepwalking a fine line between harsh reality and nightmare fantasy--a state of mind that leaves him looking disturbingly gaunt and skeletal in appearance. (It's no exaggeration to say that Bale resembles a Holocaust survivor from vintage Nazi-camp liberation newsreels.) In a cinematic territory far removed from his 1998 romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, director Brad Anderson orchestrates a grimy, nocturnal world of washed-out blues and grays, as Trevor struggles to assemble the clues of his psychological conundrum. With a friendly hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and airport waitress (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as his only stable links to sanity, Trevor reaches critical mass and seems ready to implode just as The Machinist reveals its secrets. For those who don't mind a trip to hell with a theremin-laced soundtrack, The Machinist seems primed for long-term status as a cult thriller on the edge. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
After not being able to sleep for over a year, a withered and confused industrial factory worker begins to question his sanity.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 7-JUN-2005
Media Type: DVD
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 224
 "If you were any thinner, you wouldn't exist" October 23, 2004
M. J Leonard (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States)
176 out of 186 found this review helpful
The Machinist would probably have to be one of the creepiest and psychologically complex movies of the year. The film is also a standout because of Christian Bale's withering, and soul-destroying performance as a man wracked by insomnia, and tortured by guilt. Much has been made of Bale's dramatic weight loss and his astonishing transformation into the main character - he purportedly wanted to undergo a complete physical and mental metamorphosis - but nothing will prepare the viewer for the reality of Christian's starving, skeletal-like body. Bale is nothing short of amazing in this movie - he's an actor of astounding capacities; and it's not just the feat of his physical transformation, but the fact that he totally inhabits and becomes so totally immersed in his character.
With a beautifully moody musical score and a dark, somber, yet visually stunning look, The Machinist is riveting jigsaw puzzle, an astute intellectual exercise where the viewer is left to put the pieces together, and decide which world is actually fantasy or reality. Trevor Reznick (Bale) has terrible insomnia and hasn't slept in a year. He's decimated physically and mentally and has become irrevocably trapped in a prison that is his own guilt-ridden, paranoid, and disillusioned mind - every time he tries to close his eyes something interrupts him. As the story opens, Trevor is busy trying to dispose of a dead body; the story then jumps to the events leading up to this incident.
By day Trevor works in a factory as a machinist, and at night he zealously writes messages on post-it notes, and fanatically washes his hands with bleach. He seeks solace in his favorite hooker (played with tender resolve by Jennifer Jason Leigh), and also the company of Marie (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon), a waitress at an airport coffee shop. He enjoys her company and likes to leave her extra large tips. One afternoon while at work, Reznick - distracted for a moment - contributes to a terrible accident involving a colleague. At the same time, Ivan (John Sharian), a bald-headed figure with a horribly malformed thumb and two fingers missing and whom no one else can see, constantly follows Trevor. Increasingly paranoid, Trevor becomes convinced that Ivan and Miller, his co-worker, (Michael Ironside) have trumped up some kind of conspiracy against him and are trying to drive him mad.
The Machinist is weird and difficult. As Trevor embarks on a journey of self-awareness, the viewer is left wondering whether fatigue has robbed him of reason, or whether there is some grand scheme to drive him nutty. Brave and visually sumptuous, one of the movie's many memorable visuals occurs when Trevor takes Marie's son on a horror ride called Route 666, with terrible results for both Trevor and for the boy. Guilt, loss of self, repression and odd mother fixations are all themes that are astutely and cleverly woven into the fabric of the story. For most of the film, Reznik is just a literal bag of bones, desperately floating through empty, dark apartments, and grey, storm-ridden industrial landscapes -a kind of postmodern anti-hero, a ghost who is desperately looking to make his peace. Mike Leonard October 04.
"I just want to sleep..." June 10, 2005
Michael Crane (Orland Park, IL USA)
69 out of 73 found this review helpful
I have to say that "The Machinist" is easily the most unsettling, disturbing and bizarre film I have seen so far this year. I mean, you can tell from reading the back of the DVD cover and seeing how disturbingly thin Christian Bale in pictures from the movie that this is not going to be a very happy time. Yet, last night I was in the mood for something dark and uncompromising. I got it and then some with this cleverly haunting film that is unforgettable.
Bale plays "Trevor Reznik," a troubled and fatigued machinist who hasn't slept for a year. He lives his life in isolation, with the few minor exceptions such as a friendly prostitute who takes a liking to him and an airport coffee shop waitress he visits every night. Things take a turn for the worst when he meets a fellow machinist for the first time... but nobody knows who this guy is. They tell Trevor that he doesn't exist. The paranoia and confusion leads to a horrific accident on the job that involves his co-worker. And that's when he gets the strange notes in his apartment. Either Trevor is completely delusional and has lost his mind... or somebody really is out to get him.
What's really intriguing about the movie is that just like Trevor, we do not know exactly what is real or what is made up. There are times when we're doubtful of what we're seeing, and then we get roped in and second-guess ourselves. The movie is a non-stop dread fest that just speaks of loneliness and paranoia, and that's why it works. It looks and feels exactly like it should. From the very first few minutes, it's easy to realize that this is going to be one unsettling and dark experience. It is one that you may want to re-watch after you see it all. You'll definitely think about it for a while after it's all said and done, but personally I didn't think it was that hard to piece together after it was over. It made sense, and it made even more sense on the second viewing. Christian Bale is fantastic in this. I can't believe he dropped down to around 100 pounds for the role. Yes, you should be warned that Bale looks EXTREMELY skinny in this... almost like a walking skeleton, as was intended in the script. I think the movie was very well written and directed.
This isn't a movie for those who get easily disturbed or freaked out. It's a pretty uneasy movie to watch. Let's just say you won't feel extremely cheerful after you get done watching this. You may want to put on something funny after you're done, otherwise you're going to have this movie stuck in your head while you try to sleep. The DVD has a little to offer in the extra features department, such as commentary from the director, a making of feature, 8 deleted scenes and the theatrical trailer.
I really enjoyed "The Machinist." It surprised me and kept me hooked from beginning to end. I have to say that I kind of missed watching dark movies like this. Seems like there's too many "cutesy-wutesy" movies for the family, so it's good to see something so brutal, so raw and so in your face like this. If you want to be disturbed and see something that isn't your typical thriller, "The Machinist" is something to put down on your list of movies to see. As depressing and dreadful as this movie can get... I'm ready to see it again. -Michael Crane
Stop reading reviews and just watch the movie! September 4, 2005
Alexiel (United States)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
There's so much I'd like to write about this movie, but I can't. I don't want to give even the slightest bit away. Yeah, it's cheap, I know, but I saw it with pretty much a blank slate and I think that's absolutely the best way to do. You must see this movie. Then come back and read some of these reviews, like I did (some of the reviewers give away WAY too much, I felt).
This movie is a feast for all the senses. Christian Bale plays a frighteningly emaciated industrial worker lives like an apparition in a washed out, grimy world. This reminds me of Orwell's vision of postwar England as portrayed in "1984" - grim, bleak, washed-out, bleary-eyed, ephemeral and unreal, like being stuck in a perpetual hangover in an old war zone. For a while this movie was billed as a "horror" movie but it's really psychological horror that manifests itself in a few conventionally horrific ways. It does have similarities to "Sessions 9" as others have pointed out, by the same director. Internal angst and self-discovery juxtaposed against a decaying old backdrop.
This movie is like what Henry James might have written if he were alive today! The cinematography is great, the settings are excellently done and quite creepy and unsettling, even as they are familiar. And the music! The music is great, it's about time someone gave some love to the theremin again. The acting is top-notch from everyone involved, especially Christian Bale. A scene-grabber for sure.
Every facet of the movie was executed in a professionally frightening and somewhat hallucinatory manner. But don't be fooled by that term. There really is very little David Lynch and such style in this movie, in my opinion. It does more showing and less telling, yes, but it does so in a more straight-ahead approach with less cloying. If the movie has a weakness, which it may very well not, it's the ending; however, I congratulate the writers, because this was an extraordinarily difficult movie to write a conclusion to that doesn't cheat the audience or leave things too open-ended (the famous "draw your own conclusions" ending that give critics something to rave about and writers and easy out).
In conclusion, "The Machinist" deserves 5 stars on virtually every level, and as a whole. Watch it as soon as possible, I don't think you'll be disappointed, and I'd be surprised if anyone feels "cheated" like you do with some ambitious movies.
Kafkaesque Thriller May 1, 2006
Jack M. Walter (Baltimore, MD)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Christian Bale is shocking to see in this film about a man who is skeleton-thin and sleepless due to mysterious causes. As his character Trevor explores the strange goings-on that threaten to close in around him, the viewer is inexorably drawn in and dragged along. Thankfully, this film has a satisfying ending which explains a lot of what went before. The Machinist is startling and well-crafted movie.
read this review first September 7, 2006
shatur69 (oklahoma)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
this movie is great and christian bale is awesome, although some of the other reviews are giving away to many details which will ruin the suspense for you. its best to not know what to expect with this movie.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 224
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