Who is “The Machinist”?

Trevor Reznik has a problem. He hasn’t slept in a year. So begins 2004’s “The Machinist”, a hallucinatory trip down crazyville. For his role as Reznik, Christian Bale lost 63 pound, and it shows! One might think that some CG or camera trick was employed to make him look so emaciated, but his gaunt cheeks and bony body were the real deal. Bale reportedly ate a can of tuna and an apple a day to lose the weight that he did. Behind the scenes film trivia aside, the film is a powerful depiction of a man searching for answers. It’s much more about why he can’t sleep, and we’re taken on a psychological roller coaster as Reznik pieces together his own story. Mysterious clues along the way help both he and the viewer to figure out what’s going on, and by the end he’s faced with a choice that determines not only his fate, but the fate of others.

The pieces of the puzzle are nebulous. There’s the disturbing coworker who drives a red Mustang, both of which may or may not exist. There’s a picture of two men fishing. There’s Reznik’s relationship with a Spanish waitress, as well as her son. There’s a game of hangman that keep showing up on the door of his fridge, changing as he plays the game. Throughout the film, there are times when Reznik is faced with a decision- go left down a dark pathway or go right toward the light. He consistently chooses the left. There’s an eerie carnival ride that mirrors his life a little too closely. All of these are clues to the answer of Reznik’s problem.

Reznik’s search for answers ultimately results in revealing a secret he had been hiding, even from himself. His long term insomnia has caused some serious memory loss, and our protagonist’s answer lies in remembering a forgotten event. Like Reznik, we too can have amnesia, although it’s usually self-induced. I’m sure part of the reason we busy ourselves with social networking, workaholism, or hobbies is so that we won’t think about our problems. For example, when I was going through a rough time in my life I asked my boss for a personal day off. He suggested that I immerse myself in my work instead, saying that it helped him feel better if he distracted himself when he was struggling with a personal issue. It’s this attitude and practice that causes us not to examine ourselves when life gets rough. What would it look like for us if we spent 5 minutes alone with ourselves? I’m sure all sorts of things would bubble to the surface, as it does in the finale of “The Machinist”. What does Reznik do when faced with the truth? You’ll have to watch to find out.