Trainspotting (Danny Boyle,1996):UK

Reviewed by Emelie Zahner. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2009.

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When Trainspotting were released there were a lot of critics around it. Some were bad and some were good. But the film manage to get Oscar nominated and did also win a lot of other awards. This film is based from the book of Irvine Welsh. Danny Boyle made this film in the right period of time because drugs were a big problem in Scotland when this film was made.

The film takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland during the late 80´s and beginning of 90´s. Mark Renton (Evan McGregor) and his friends: sick boy, spud and Tommy are all addicted to problems, alcohol and drugs and especially heroin. Mark soon realizes that he needs to stop using drugs but it is not just as easy as that. All of his friends are addicted to heroin and he falls back into it many times but he will do what ever it takes to stop all of this. Soon he realizes that the drugs are not all he needs to get rid of, he understands that his friends is a big problem to.

Evan McGregor got his big breakthrough with this film. He did an amazing job with this character. He played as good as you almost forgot that he was playing somebody else. They choose the right person to play this character. The music they used in this film was original and it matched along with the film and the different scenes. They used music that was popular back then so they are using it right. The music was a big and important part of the film. They used music that was popular when the film took place (late 80´s, early 90´s) and they also used music that was popular when they made the film (around 1996), so they are using different kinds of music so that the film would feel more real.

Dark humor and satire are walking hand in hand along in this film even though the story is about drugs and something that is really important. Danny Boyle mange to mix the serious things with silly jokes and he makes you feel that you are waiting for more. This is pure masterwork, the mixing and sometimes he takes you into a journey of laughter and pain at the same time.

When I came to see this film I didn’t know what to expect because I had never seen it before. As I was watching the film, I was blown away by the amazing performance and the amazing well done script. I will definitely see this film again, very soon.

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Published:
02.09.09 / 7pm
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2009