Mike Hodges was having great difficulty on settling on an actor to play the lead. It was while he was making Croupier (1998) that he realized Clive Owen would be perfect in the role. Owen very quickly stepped on board.
Julie Christie, Jacqueline Bisset and Vanessa Redgrave were all considered for the role that went to Charlotte Rampling.
Trevor Preston actually wrote the screenplay for this film 10 years previously. As the core subject of the film is male rape, it not surprisingly sat on the shelf for a long time before anyone was prepared to make it.