Trevor Reznik is a machinist in a factory. An extreme case of insomnia has led to him not sleeping in a year and his body withering away to almost nothing. He has an obsessive compulsion to write himself reminder notes and keep track of his dwindling weight both scribbled on yellow stickies in his apartment. The only person he lets into his life in an emotional sense is Stevie a prostitute although he has an infatuation with Maria a single mother waitress working in an airport diner. His co-workers dont associate with and mistrust him because of not knowing what is going on in his life that has led to his emaciated physical appearance. A workplace incident further alienates him with his coworkers and in conjunction with some unfamiliar pieces of paper he finds in his apartment Trevor believes that someone or some people - probably one or some of his coworkers - are out to get him using a phantom employee named Ivan as their front. As Trevor goes on a search for evidence as to...
Review
I really enjoyed this film. It reminded me of 21 Grams Jacobs Ladder and Memento. Perhaps the finale left a few questions unanswered or felt a little anticlimactic but an amazing performance by Christian Bale. Haunted brave vulnerable murderous but also very moving. A film which stays with you.
Now heres an eggheaded thing but did anyone notice the constant stream of Dostoyevsky references in the movie Not only did Resnick (remind anyone of Raskolnikov) put down a copy of Dostoyevskys The Idiot at one point but the whole movie owed a lot to Notes From The Underground Crime And Punishment and The Double. Did anyone spot the sign in the Ghost Train sequence which read Crime And Punishment Or that Sharians character is called Ivan (cf The Brothers Karamazov especially the chapter Ivans Dream) Jennifer Jason Leighs character is very familiar from Dostoyevsky as was the saintly Maria.
Its a cracking film and none of these references are indispensable to enjoying it but I thought I would point it out.