Brad Anderson: "The Machinist" - A Film Review

dropped 63 pound of his original weight by starving himself down during a strict diet. He only eats one can of tuna and an apple per day to transform himself into a desperate insomniac. By doing so, he postpones former limits in so-called “Method Acting” to an unreachable dimension. But not only his horrible appearance is agitating, no, his whole performance as Trevor Reznick is unique and also fascinating in a shocking way. In this film, the main protagonist stands by chapter and verse in the centre of the plot. And Christian Bale uses this chance to deliver a one-man show that is without equal.

He doesn’t just play a role; he is the incarnation of a paranoid and consciencestricken insomniac in the flesh.

The narration of the plot starts in media res. The audience observes the sleepless machinists while he‘s struggling along his vacuous daily routine. There’s no explanation given referring to his state of mind and no further description of his life before he became an insomniac. We are on the same level with the protagonist and we see and interpret all occurring events trough his tired eyes. Due to this particular point of view, the plot of the film proceeds very simple and linear. It’s narrated in a verbosely way without any hectic and reduced to a minimum. There aren’t any further plotlines that would eventually distract the audience from the main-narration. But this gives us the chance to identify ourselves with Trevor and his problems. We as spectators are thrown immediately into the surreal and bizarre world of Trevor’s sleeplessness and preposterous perception without having any clue. The only exception is the anticipation at the beginning of the film. At the end, the use of this narrative technique wraps up the whole plot to a logical whole complete in itself. The film is full of symbols and signs that allude to the surprising twist and the ending of the film. But when you watch it the very first time you are as helpless as the main protagonist, trying to interpret them in a meaningful way. Every single scene contains a deeper meaning and is loaded with signs. Due to this fact “The Machinist” isn’t a typical blockbuster movie. This means, that you need to bring along enough time and patience and that you definitely should watch it only together with friends which can be quietly and absolutely concentrated on the occurring events. Even the sound of crunching popcorn could possibly