With The Machinist, Christian Bale adds his name to the list of actors who have undergone extreme physical transformations for a movie role. In his portrayal of Trevor Reznik, Bale lost over 60 lbs to transform himself into the skeletal insomniac who may or may not be suffering hallucinations in this nicely filmed, intriguing story which is one part Twilight Zone, one part X-Files, and one part human drama.

When the story begins, Reznik claims to have not slept in a year and after seeing his wasted, emaciated appearance; it isn't hard to believe him. His days are spent at his job as a machinist, and alternating nights are spent with a prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and a waitress at an airport diner whom he innocently flirts with over coffee and uneaten pie. After an accident in the factory where he works, when a co-worker loses an arm and Reznik is to blame, odd things begin to occur. Cryptic messages begin appearing on post-it notes stuck to his refrigerator and he begins seeing a man that might or might not be an insomnia-induced hallucination. Reznik's paranoia grows as the movie moves towards its climax, which turns out to be both satisfying and unexpected.

The movie is beautifully filmed with washed out colors that perfectly match and enhance the feeling of sleeplessness that permeates the story. You feel Reznik's exhaustion while watching. It's a great example of how artistry, which is too often used for its own sake, can enhance a movie.

While the entire cast does a great job, it is Bale who holds the movie together, through all of its twists and turns. His physical transformation is only a small part of his performance, adding to his portrayal of a man caught in the grip of utter exhaustion and paranoia. He pulls you in to the movie and holds you there, even in the moments when you're wondering if the story will ultimately come together and pay off the build up. Unlike so many movies with surprise endings, The Machinist's ending satisfies. It explains everything before it and is surprisingly grounded in reality.

Although it's not the sort of movie you'd want to watch over and over again, The Machinist is definitely worth a viewing, if for Bale's performance alone. If he can bring some of his haunted portrayal here to his upcoming role as Batman, then I can't wait to see it.

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Bale does do a great job and Leigh has some very nice breast, but the ending was not quite as satisfying as I had hoped. Everything comes together at the end but instead of thinking "wow" I thought "Oh, that makes sense." I prefer a bigger payoff than indifference from a movie so full of mystery.

Throughout the film I was trying to make heads or tails out of what was going on. It was quite annoying as I am a lazy movie watcher when it comes to thinking too much about the plot. The ending made sense of it all but it did not make it anymore entertaining. There is no one in this film to care about. Thus, Trevor's moment of redemption is moot.

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