How do you wake from a nightmare if you aren't asleep?

the story

THE MACHINIST is the story of Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale), a lathe-operator who is dying of insomnia. In a machine shop, occupational hazards are bad enough under normal circumstances; yet for Trevor the risks are compounded by fatigue. Trevor has lost the ability to sleep. In fact, he hasn’t slept for a year… This is no ordinary insomnia…

Yet Trevor won’t seek help. He hides his illness like some dark and shameful secret. Whatever it is that’s wrong with him, he’d rather not know.

Trevor has two women in his life. One is a prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh) he visits in the dead of night. The other is a waitress (Aitana Sánchez-gijón) who moonlights in an airport coffee shop to support an ill child. Trevor sees these women for different reasons. The prostitute satisfies his carnal instincts, the waitress eases his loneliness.

As his insomnia continues, Trevor becomes afflicted by vivid and violent hallucinations. He loses control of his thoughts an actions. He fears he’s going insane. Yet he does his best to hide this from others. After all, he doesn’t want to lose his job.

One day Trevor meets a new employee at the shop. This is Ivan. There’s something repulsive about this man. Something disturbing. That afternoon, Trevor is involved in a shop accident that costs a man his arm. His co-workers blame him for the accident. They feel he has become a liability to others. Now they want him out.

Trevor refuses to resign. He fights to hang onto his job and his sanity. Yet he’s losing his grip. Especially when he’s told that this new employee Ivan doesn’t exist. Is this true? Or is there a plot afoot to force Trevor from the shop?

Now Trevor must find Ivan if he hopes to keep his job (and his sanity). Yet this is no easy task. Ivan is a cunning opponent. And the more Trevor learns about him, the less he wants to know.

Brad Anderson Commentary

“The Machinist is a dark, moody thriller. It is the story of a man running from a guilty conscience that is literally consuming him alive, uncertain, unaware even, of what crime he's committed. It’s literary models are the classic fiction of Kafka and Dostoievsky. Its film touchstones are Hitchcock, Polanski and Lynch. In other words, it is a story of overwhelming paranoia and foreboding.

The look of the film was inspired by the austere expressionism of early horror films - like THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI, NOSFERATU, and VAMPYR and the shadowy films of producer Val Lewton like I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and THE SEVENTH VICTIM. We hope to create a "subtle nightmare" with this film, one that pulls it’s dramatic suspense and horror from everyday situations.”

click here for "behind the scenes" photos from The Machinist

The Machinist theatrical poster

click here for "behind the scenes" photos from The Machinist

Christian Bale in The Machinist Christian Bale
John Sharian in The Machinist
John Sharian

Christian Bale in The Machinist
Matthew Romeo and Christian Bale

Jennifer Jason Leigh in The Machinist
Jennifer Jason Leigh

Christian Bale in The Machinist
Christian Bale

Christian Bale in The Machinist
Christian Bale