The Machinist

A disappointing effort at making a modern film noir. Christian Bale is excellent as Trevor Reznik, a man who cannot sleep. Emaciated and hallucinatory, Reznik drifts through his days by working in a machine shop, having sex with a prostitute and trying to figure out why it is that he feels so guilty. Eventually, he unravels the mystery of who he is, but director Brad Anderson presents his story with so little rhythm that all of his great ideas get lost in his poor arrangement of scenes. While Machinist could have been a lot better in more skillful hands, it’s not a complete waste. If you’re going to see it, though, you should be warned that the first half is tremendously slow and does little for the story. On the other hand, you can use it as an opportunity to catch up on your reading.