The Machinist

Hallucinations are something that very few of us have ever experienced, and those who have can attest to the fact that they seem so real and powerful. This is only one of the issues that Christian Bale must face in the insomnia driven world in this film. Its hard to recognize Bale right away since he lost a great deal of weight for the role, he actually looks like a Nazi concentration camp victim from World War II. Besides his physical appearance the emotional roller coaster that Bale takes is at times heart stopping and leaves you wondering just how much of himself he had to put into the character's makeup.
After not sleeping for a year Trevor Reznik's world becomes more than he can deal with and when the line between reality and fantasy gets blurred he doesn't know where to turn to for help. The camera work is done so well that you feel as if you're completely submerged within Reznik's world of belief. The symbolism of life and dreams is on full display here, every time you turn a corner in the story there's a whole new batch of things to consider for examination. With the strong acting and the even stronger story the audience is sucked into this world and is forced to work out the solution to Reznik's problem from his point of view.
This film was so much more than I expected it to be, the amount of power and substance that is in this film just grabs you from the very beginning and never lets you go even after the movie is over. As you watch the film you never realize how much of your self has been drawn into the story and when Reznik's world starts to unravel you feel yourself being pulled along with it. One of the best aspects of this film is that as the story progresses the audience isn't given any more information than Reznik has, so as the twists and turns come you must experience them at the same time he does and try to figure them out together. I would rank this as one of the top ten films that I'm seen in years, the intensity of the characters and the persuasiveness of the story are clear examples of what the true magic of the cinema really is.