The Machinist
Short description
The Machinist centres on Trevor Reznik, a lathe operator in an industrial plant who has gone a year without sleep. His body has wasted away, his attention at work has dulled, and he has begun to perceive things nobody around him can see. Among the few people he still trusts are Stevie, a sex worker he visits regularly, and Marie, a waitress at an airport café where he spends his nights. When an accident at the factory injures a colleague, Trevor's already fragile standing with his co-workers collapses, and he comes to suspect that he is being deliberately targeted. A menacing stranger named Ivan, who seems to shadow him everywhere, becomes the focus of his search for an explanation.
Brad Anderson directed the film from a screenplay by Scott Kosar, with Julio Fernández producing. It followed Anderson's Happy Accidents and Session 9. Christian Bale leads the cast as Trevor, alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, John Sharian and Michael Ironside.
Made for about five million dollars and shot in Spain with Belgian and Spanish backing, the film took roughly eight million dollars worldwide, a modest return that understates its later reputation. On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from over six thousand votes, while critics rated it 7 out of 10 across 141 reviews, placing the two measures closely together.
What's left behind the scenes
- For the role of Trevor Reznik, Christian Bale had to lose over 30 kilograms (66 pounds).
- The main character, Trevor Reznik, is named after Trent Reznor, the leader of Nine Inch Nails, whom the film's director admires.
- Scott Kozar wrote the script at his own risk immediately after graduating from film school, and then spent several years unsuccessfully trying to sell it in Hollywood. He was told that his style was good, but the overall tone of the writing was too dark. This is why he failed to secure funding for the project in the United States.
- To prepare for filming, Christian Bale went on a strict diet and even started smoking to suppress his appetite.
- The film was shot almost entirely on location in Barcelona, Spain, so the film's art department had to work hard to recreate the atmosphere of America and specifically Los Angeles, both in outdoor and indoor scenes. This included replacing Spanish brands of cigarettes and alcohol, street signs, traffic lights, payphones, shop signs, cars, and license plates for filming in the city's "most dangerous" areas (as described by screenwriter Scott Kozar).
- Brad Anderson shot a significant portion of the film either on crutches (he tore his Achilles tendon shortly before filming began) or lying on a stretcher (due to back problems).
- Spanish film producers insisted on casting local actors in minor roles with the intention of dubbing their lines into English later. Director Brad Anderson opposed this and suggested casting American and English actors residing in Spain in these roles to make their pronunciation noticeable.
- When Bale's character drives along Route 666, a sign reading "Crime and Punishment" is visible in one of the shots. The main character also reads the novel "The Idiot" at home. Furthermore, the film's plot is close to the plot of Dostoevsky's novel "The Double."
- According to the plot, the main character was looking for a car with the license plate 743CRN, while the car he was driving had "reversed" plates NRC347.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
