6. Ivan (The Machinist)
Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale, in a role that required him to lose 28kg/62 lb) is a sleep-deprived engineer whose strange, semi-conscious existence isn't necessarily helped by the introduction of his colleague Ivan (John Sharian). Ivan is a muscular, bald and mysterious fellow who arrives as the replacement for Reynolds, a former worker, and flashes a friendly grin to Trevor every time they meet on the factory floor. Yet so disturbing is his presence that, after a lapse of concentration, Trevor causes an industrial accident that ultimately costs another colleague, Miller, one of his fingers. Trevor tries to place the blame elsewhere, but is shocked to discover that his bosses have never even heard of Ivan. Given his insomnia, Trevor assumes he is hallucinating, but things become stranger still when Ivan reveals his disfigurement: his big toe has been grafted onto his hand as a result of an accident. As Trevor grows increasingly paranoid at work, the ill-feeling following Miller's accident has turned everyone against him, he finds a photograph that shows Ivan with Reynolds. Yet when he shows others, they point out that the picture shows Reynolds and himself... It transpires that Ivan is indeed a figment of Trevor's imagination, a madness triggered from incessant insomnia, and that the disfigured hand is doubtless a coping mechanism for his guilt over Miller's accident. This may also explain the hit-and-run that bookend the film, as well as the identity of the person leaving 'hangman' Post-It notes scattered around Trevor's apartment.