Living in a dream world
Trevor Reznik works in a parts factory. He works machines, he is a machinist. Outside of work, Trevor has an unusual life. He hasn’t slept in nearly a year and he continues to lose weight without knowing why. Once a buff young man, he has now trimmed himself down to nearly 120 pounds. On top of this, someone is out to get Trevor and he isn’t sure who that person is. A co-worker continues to show up during tragedies, but no one knows who that co-worker is. Suffering from lack of sleep and constant weightless, Trevor must discover who is trying to get him and stop them before they cause harm to people around him.
This movie is a bit harsh on so many levels. First and foremost, you will need to stomach what Christian Bale did to himself for this role. Not familiar with what I’m talking about? Take a look:
If Bale had not gone to this level of body work the story would have completely fallen apart. To convince the audience that there is clearly something not right with this guy, he had to look worn. Weighing in at under 130, he not only looked worn, but because of this look he will make you feel tired and hungry. The dedication that he put into this role is above and beyond what I have seen from any other actor. You have to have balls of steel to explore the possibility of looking starved. Again, without this look the story would have failed miserably.
Speaking of story, it starts out really slow at the beginning. For years, I had people always telling me to go see The Machinist. It was suppose to be this epic film that defined what a good story should be. For the first 30-minutes I was really scared that I had been suckered into an indie-film. I know what you’re thinking and yes, I understand there are good indie-films out there. On the flip-side to that coin, I was put through indie hell as an undergraduate and I have no desire to revisit that path. Anyway, the story certainly started out slow as we’re introduced to Trevor and are putting pieces together that he didn’t always look like a toothpick. We’re also putting together that Trevor has got some other problems, deeper than just being skinny and tired. Psychologically, there is something severely wrong with Trevor, but the movie doesn’t give enough details until nearly at the end when the it all comes to a head. The film gives you clues to what’s wrong with Trevor and more specifically what happened to him to get him in this particular state. What’s great about this film is that it progressively chips away at your senses. It makes you uncomfortable, it makes you sick and it does this in small doses. It also plays with your sense of tension. As the mystery of Trevor’s life begins to unfold, you begin to experience the paranoia, confusion and downright uncomfortableness that Trevor puts himself through. It works amazingly well and keeps the story moving forward and fast.
Black and blu is the way to go
This is quite possibly the first movie that I actually wished it wasn’t in HD. The movie is disturbing, especially the Michael Ironside scene where his hand…. well…. nevermind, you’ll see. Anyway, the HD video is amazing and it helps to reinforce the story, especially when you can see Bale’s body in detail. Enjoy those visuals. As for sound, for a movie like this the audio heightens the suspense and drama of the film. It will help you become tense, uncomfortable and right where you need to be. Anyway, Blu-ray helps the film, but it may not help you in the long run.
As for features, here’s what you’re getting:
– Commentary by Brad Anderson
– Manifesting the Machinist (HD)
– The Machinist: Hiding in Plain Sight (HD)
– The Machinist: Breaking the Rules
– Deleted Scenes
– Theatrical Trailer
This is a good set of features and a lot insight is given to how the movie was made and what they were thinking when they were putting it together. It compliments the film and brings you some good information about what went into the filming process.