MovieChat Forums > The Machinist (2004) Discussion > What was real and what was fake?

What was real and what was fake?


The Corpse (in the rug)

It was likely just an empty rug with no body in it, or Trevor dumps his own body in the river, only to come out and perceive his death from another one of his personalities.

Ivan (the Antagonist)

Completely fake. He never physically existed. Ivan was purely a projection of Trevor's guilt toward the car accident. Under stress, Trevor's mind found it easier to pin his guilt on an imaginary personality than own up to it himself.

Miller (the Machine Accident)

Somewhat real. The accident injuries were likely minimal if they even happened at all (explaining why Trevor didn't get fired so easily). The scene where Trevor visits Miller in his garage is likely an illusion with a random stranger.

Stevie (the Prostitute)

Completely real. Although, it's more likely that they were in a relationship and Trevor is imagining her as a prostitute to depersonalize it. He is the crazy psychotic ex she is talking about, and he likely gave her the bruises.

Immersed in one personality, he abuses her. In another personality, he loves her and pays her well out of guilt.

Maria (the Waitress)

Mostly fake. The only real scene of her was when Trevor runs her child Nicholas over and she is in grief. The carnival date, nor the romantic night never happened. Trevor, thinking the waitress is Maria, tips her generously out of guilt

Nicolas (the Child)

Mostly fake. The only scene real scene of him was when he got run over by Trevor. The scenes in the carnival, the satanic funhouse and Ivan's kidnapping of the boy were all hallucinations. His hallucinations of rescuing the boy stemmed from his guilt and desire to want to make up for his mistake.

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I think you're spot on. It was obvious to me from his introduction that Ivan was just a figment, so I thought "What a predictable, unoriginal formula!" But then the movie hit us with all these other twists. It was very clever to use the obvious giveaway as a distraction from the real goods.

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I agree with all of those, except Miller. I thinks its likely that the accident happened exactly as shown.
Why would Trevor have gotten fired for that? Sure he was distracted and he even told the managers that, but that wasnt the cause of the accident. The biggest issue in that situation was the fact that the machine was not properly locked out while being serviced, and the Emergency Stop did not work when pressed. We already saw a scene where Tucker harrassed one of the guys for not running a broken machine and Trevor quoting OSHA rules in response. Management is making the factory an unfriendly environment for proper maintenance, it resulted in an accident, and if they tried to fire Trevor for that he could easily bring a case against them instead.

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Whatabout the post it notes on the fridge? And the lights? Ivan says "you know what's it like to shave in the dark"

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