Is there real connection between The Machinist and Dostoyevsky's books?
I've asked myself why the imaginary co-worker of Reznik in The Machinist (2004) is called Ivan, and why Reznik himself reads "The Idiot".
According to Wikipedia, Ivan is reference to "The Brothers Karamazov" and the movie is influenced by "The Double: A Petersburg Poem" by Dostoyevsky. But are there really references to "The Idiot" and "The Brothers Karamazov" in the movie, or they are used just because they are some of the most famous Dostoyevsky's books?
Best Answer
Firstly the novel The Idiot presents a protagonist in the form of innocent Prince Lev Nikolaievich Myshkin who as a youth was prone to blackouts, his current mental condition is unclear; [...] Myshkin meets his reverse in Rogozhin, who is associated with darkness in contrast with Myshkin’s lightness. Trevor Reznik seems to be the embodiment of both these characters; in his relationship with Marie he is charming, kind and gallant (Myshkin) while with Stevie he is mistrustful and vicious (Rogozhin)...
Stevie is a much more dangerous woman as she seems to be derived from Anastassya Filippovna Barashkov, the femme fatale of The Idiot who Myshkin mistakes his pity for her, as love. Stevie also seems to be associated with another Dostoevsky heroine in Sonya from Crime and Punishment. Sonya prostitutes herself for the sake of her family and falls for murderous Raskolnikov, the alienated protagonist of Crime and Punishment. [...] Stevie’s extended kindness is revealed to be the true saviour of Reznik as one of his final conversations with her reveals he has finally transgressed from killer to victim and he now understands his crime and acknowledges his guilt and moral responsibility...
The devil incarnate Rogozhin, can be link to the hellish figure of Ivan, a deformed character [...] whose confidence and personality are equally repulsive and inciting. Ivan can also be described as a guardian angel as he also helps Reznik understand who he is. Ivan is seemingly Reznik’s opposite and yet the two are cut from the same cloth as their identities overlap. [...] Ivan is Trevor Reznik’s conscience but he is also a strand of his former personality [...] It is the fictional Ivan who forces Reznik to confront his sins, till the very end and perhaps Reznik’s views his machinist self through the transgressed identity of the grotesque Ivan...
I personally have only read Crime and Punishment and always thought that there was a direct link between this and the Machinist due to the main character in each ultimately being driven mad by the guilt from the act they committed and ultimately handing themselves in.
Reading the first article above would suggest there is a rather large link with The Idiot as well.
Pictures about "Is there real connection between The Machinist and Dostoyevsky's books?"
Was The Machinist based on a book?
In the DVD commentary, writer Scott Kosar states that he was influenced by Dostoyevsky's novel The Double. The character Reznik is shown reading Dostoyevsky's The Idiot early in the film.Is Ivan from The Machinist real?
Who is Ivan? Ivan is Trevor's subconscious, Trevor's guilt. Throughout the film, we see Ivan attributed to working with various characters in the movie, but he doesn't exist.What is the story behind The Machinist?
The film stars Christian Bale as the eponymous machinist Trevor Reznik, a factory worker who suffers from chronic insomnia and claims he hasn't slept in a year. A tragedy at his job sends the man on a downward spiral into hallucinatory madness that forces him to confront his demons, whether he wants to or not.Psychological Analysis of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist
More answers regarding is there real connection between The Machinist and Dostoyevsky's books?
Answer 2
As I see it, all his books are referenced in the movie... notes from the underground... notes, do you get it? Crime and punishment, no need to explain that, besides, in the haunted house,there was written "crime and punishment'" in neon right above him.
Then of course, there's the protagonist reading, the idiot. I didn't read it but the description on goodreads should give you an indication of how it compares to the movie: the Christ-like epileptic Prince Myshkin finds himself enmeshed in a tangle of love, torn between two women'' remember the epileptic kid? Remember the two woman? Maybe I'm wrong but to me it seems all so obvious.
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