Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996): UK

Reviewd by Marcus Perfjell. Viewed at the 2009 Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

An amazing performance by Ewan McGregor who plays Renton, a heroin addict, who have tried quitting a couple of times but couldn’t do it. We follow Renton and some of his friends; they’re drug addicts as well. Spud played by Ewen Bremner, Tommy played by Kevin McKidd, the James bond-fanatic Sick Boy (Jenny Lee Miller and sometimes-even Begbie shows up (Robert Carlyle). The last named, Begbie is a complete mess he doesn’t use heroin to get high he gets his rush from other stuff. He drinks a lot, loves to fight and always carry a knife, the other ones in the gang have all very deeply respect for Begbie.

Rentons life is actually based on three things, his friends, soccer and heroin. He and his friends steal to afford their next shot. But Renton soon gets tired of the life he is living, and after an overdose he “gets help” quitting. To not get back on the same old track again he escapes his friends and moves down to London to start a new life as a broker, but for how long will he be able to hold the mask?

What you need to have in mind while doing one of these films about drug addicts is that you can’t do the movie too happy, or bright. This would embellish the addicts, and if it’s too dark, people aren’t going to want to see it. Boyle had to balance on a thin line while directing this movie, but he did it, with Trainspotting.

When Trainspotting arrived to the US theatres it received mixed feelings among the audience, some found it beautiful while others hated it. The police in England was giving out free tickets to youths the day it showed. The movie showed how young drug addicts live in today’s England. The movie shows some strong scenes when the characters gets high, and there is a deep conversation about how the heroin makes you feel, “Imagine the best orgasm you’ve ever had, multiply it with a thousand, and you’re still not even close”.

To get this movie to fit in with the American audience which doesn’t like seeing films with subtitles in it (which explains all the lately re-done Japanese and French movies) they re-did all the voices of the first 20 minutes of the movie, so they wouldn’t sound so “gibberishly”. For the ones who love The Beatles there is a lot of them in this movie too!