Machinist, The Review

Christian Bale plays Trevor Reznik, a man who has not been able to sleep for an entire year. By day, he works as a factory machinist, and at night he finds solace in the bed of prostitute Stevie, Jennifer Jason Leigh. His only other friend is waitress Maria, Aitana S?nchez-Gij?n, who works nights at an airport coffee shop. Adding to Reznik?s deprivation and confusion is mysterious co-worker Ivan, John Sharian who appears to be keeping tabs on him. Director Brad Anderson, who made the horror suspense thriller Session 9, presents a cleverly constructed tale of one man?s descent into paranoia. The film has been bleached to heighten its grim grey tone, and with an atmospheric score by Roque Banos, The Machinist falls only slightly short of a classic psychological thriller, in the style of Hitchcock. Bale?s performance is superb, and the film is certainly worth watching, but Anderson isn?t quite in the same league as, say, Polanski or David Lynch.