The Machinist -- Media Report
The Machinist
A 2004 movie starring Christian Bale
John Lowe
Psychology 180
Media Report
Professors Susan Turner and Julie True
September 14, 2011
The Machinist, a 2004 psychological thriller, impressed me by the performance of Christian Bale. To prepare for the movie, he lost nearly seventy pounds to accurately depict the main character, Trevor Resnik. The film aptly portrays the possible extreme physiologic effects that psychological trauma can induce when left untreated.
As the film begins, it presents a blurred image of Trevor through the rain streaked window of his apartment as he is rolling a body in a large tan carpet. He then walks to the window to light a cigarette, displaying bruises and cuts all over his emaciated and haunted face. The film cuts to him unloading the rolled carpet from the back of his pickup truck. A pair of white-sneakered feet dangles from one end of the carpet. He struggles to carry the carpet to a waterfront and tosses it down a flight of steps into the ocean. A guard carrying a yellow flashlight walks up to Trevor and asks, “Who are you?” Trevor is then shown back in his apartment, washing his hands with bleach in his bathroom sink. The picture pans back. The same yellow flashlight the guard was holding is now lying on his coffee table. Trevor notices a yellow Post-It note on the wall behind him with “WHO ARE YOU?” written on it.
The film alternately illustrates how Trevor has been deteriorating, both physically and mentally, by shifting through scenes with his call-girl girlfriend, his apartment, his work, and with a waitress at a diner. It shows him in his bed with a call-girl, Stevie, and presents a graphic image of his withered body. He is shown again with her later in the film where he states that he just wants to sleep and that he hasn’t slept in a year. Stevie asks Trevor if he is going to rescue her from her life, that she would give it up for the right guy. His
A 2004 movie starring Christian Bale
John Lowe
Psychology 180
Media Report
Professors Susan Turner and Julie True
September 14, 2011
The Machinist, a 2004 psychological thriller, impressed me by the performance of Christian Bale. To prepare for the movie, he lost nearly seventy pounds to accurately depict the main character, Trevor Resnik. The film aptly portrays the possible extreme physiologic effects that psychological trauma can induce when left untreated.
As the film begins, it presents a blurred image of Trevor through the rain streaked window of his apartment as he is rolling a body in a large tan carpet. He then walks to the window to light a cigarette, displaying bruises and cuts all over his emaciated and haunted face. The film cuts to him unloading the rolled carpet from the back of his pickup truck. A pair of white-sneakered feet dangles from one end of the carpet. He struggles to carry the carpet to a waterfront and tosses it down a flight of steps into the ocean. A guard carrying a yellow flashlight walks up to Trevor and asks, “Who are you?” Trevor is then shown back in his apartment, washing his hands with bleach in his bathroom sink. The picture pans back. The same yellow flashlight the guard was holding is now lying on his coffee table. Trevor notices a yellow Post-It note on the wall behind him with “WHO ARE YOU?” written on it.
The film alternately illustrates how Trevor has been deteriorating, both physically and mentally, by shifting through scenes with his call-girl girlfriend, his apartment, his work, and with a waitress at a diner. It shows him in his bed with a call-girl, Stevie, and presents a graphic image of his withered body. He is shown again with her later in the film where he states that he just wants to sleep and that he hasn’t slept in a year. Stevie asks Trevor if he is going to rescue her from her life, that she would give it up for the right guy. His