Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale, American Psycho) isn't exactly living the high life. His fellow employees at the local factory would love to see him dead bizarre Post-It messages keep turning up on his fridge each time he walks into the kitchen and a year-long bout of insomnia has been slowly driving him to doubt his own sanity.

In fact, it might be fair to say that his existence is more like a living hell. Appropriate, then, that he constantly leaves Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic novel The Idiot lying around his apartment-Trevor's character is the best tormented young man that Dostoevsky never wrote.

If first appearances were good judges, The Machinist wouldn't seem that different from the many mind-warping thrillers that have been cropping up in theaters for the last few years. Yet, The Machinist isn't the kind of vaguely thoughtful entertainment that you shake off as you exit the theater and completely forget by dinner. There's something distinctly strange about this film.

The answer to that "why" lies in the expert direction of Brad Anderson (Session 9) and a terrific script by Scott Kosar (who wrote the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake), both of which work together to form a very unique creation. The Machinist might be deemed a horror film of sorts; certainly, there are many unsettling aspects to it. The entire film takes place in a bleak, industrial landscape filled with creepy music and an overwhelming sensation of paranoia. As Trevor explores this world, trying to discover the dark secret causing his life to fall apart, his sleepless nights to continue, and the atmosphere only grows thicker and more ominous.

A mysterious, hulking character named Ivan (John Sharian, Saving Private Ryan), who has been shadowing Trevor since the beginning of the movie, turns downright dangerous. The few positive parts of Trevor's life-a friendship with a compassionate prostitute (Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hudsucker Proxy) and a budding romantic relationship with a lovely waitress (Aitana S*nchez-Gij?n, A Walk in the Clouds) -start to crack under the strain of his increasing madness. Eventually, he is forced toward an inevitable conclusion: confronting the truth of his situation with a nightmarish revelation that redefines the reality of all that has come before.

For all of its weirdness, The Machinist has a soul, and a very honest one at that. Pity is always given to the characters, and instead of going for the emotional jugular all the time like a lesser movie would, The Machinist underplays scenes at times to achieve poignancy rather than shocks. At one point, Trevor pays a visit to Miller (Michael Ironside, Scanners), a co-worker bearing the brunt of a terrible machine accident Trevor was responsible for. Suspecting that Miller might be causing his problems as a form of revenge, Trevor starts to drop accusatory hints and to release his pent-up aggression on the other man. The resulting confrontation between Trevor and Miller, the latter who thinks of the past with only sadness and a quiet dignity, is a disturbing reminder that part of Trevor's problems may be due not to some unknown "enemy," but to his own callousness and lack of compassion for others.

Though this is a message that many films have dealt with before, The Machinist takes it a step further, offering a vivid representation of its terrible emotional consequences that is gently heartbreaking to watch.

As for Bale himself, some words must be devoted to the jaw-dropping transformation he went through before showing up to work. Trevor is a character racked with emotional and mental turmoil, and Bale has brought all this agony to the outside, shedding 60 pounds to become a grotesque skeleton of a man. While his sense of self-preservation is questionable, Bale definitely deserves credit for the great gift his emaciated body brings to the movie. Trevor looks as sick and worn down as he is supposed to feel, and when coupled with a terrific, harrowing performance of creeping insanity, an extraordinarily difficult-to-play character comes to life (or as close as he would ever get to it).

The Machinist has quite a few complexities and subplots, yet the key to the film lies in Trevor and Trevor alone. Without a strong portrayal to hold it up in the center, all of The Machinist's wonderful attributes might have fallen down around it, but Bale, with his dedication to the role, makes sure that Trevor's story is one that's worth hearing.