The Machinist Opening- Brief Analysis

After a short deliberate silence, there is a focus pull that reveals our main actor for the first time. It later becomes apparent that he is rolling up a body in a carpet. So our immediate instinctive reaction is that he is the "bad guy", the villain in this thriller. The lighting also contributes to our initial perception of the protagonist, Trevor. It is rather dark both inside the room and outside. We are trained to associate a dark environment with a dark mind.

 

Trevor then approaches the window, which is meant to be eerie as the supposed sinister looking villain has now come physically closer to the audience. However, this also provides an insight into Trevor. We see Trevor's face, revealing that he's anorexic and is bleeding perhaps as a result of a struggle prior to the rolling up of the body. Is he innocent? Was it self defense? A number of questions have suddenly appeared into the audience's mind. The audience is deliberately being positioned in an ambiguous position.

This is a low angle shot really showing how much Trevor is struggling. This in intended to create sympathy for Trevor. Why would we be positioned to sympathise with the villain. Maybe he isn't the villain..? However, the next shot contradicts this further adding to our mixed feelings for Trevor.

It is a menacing low angle shot that shows Trevor looking down at the place where he intends to dispose of the body. It clearly shows him as powerful and ominous, for he is literally looking down at the audience.

After we, the audience, see a light in the distance and get a reaction shot of Trevor and see him cowering away or even withering away under the light, trepidation starts to build up. This is a typical feature of a Thriller- trepidation. The feeling that something is about to happen.

It seems that Trevor recognizes the person who is shining the light at him. This perpertuates the idea that Trevor may be a victim and not a villain as he appears to be shocked and even exhibits fear at the the sight of the mysterious assailant.

Here we see Trevor washing his hands vigorously with bleach. This tells us that he is obviously mentally unstable and suffers at the hand of his disability. Also the chronology becomes unclear here. We don't know whether this occurs after the incident or prior to it. Ambiguity = Thriller

The classic look in the mirror and question who you are scene.