Trainspotting

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Ewan Bremner, Johnny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd and Robert Carlyle.

Director: Danny Boyle

Release Date: 1996

Running Time: 1hr 34 minutes

Genre: Drama

Rating: 18

Format: DVD

Synopsis:

Mark Renton is living a life of drugs and alcohol in Edinburgh, this is the story of him desperately trying to get clean whilst being swayed otherwise by his friends. 

Based on the novel of the same by Irvine Walsh.Chances are if you mention "Trainspotting" to any hardcore movie fan the first thing they will rave about is the soundtrack. Underworld's "Born Slippy" became one of the most influential songs of the mid nineties, that still to this day is as famous now as it was then! Starring Ewan McGregor as Renton a young lad that is completely and 100% addicted to heroin. McGregor has truly proven himself over the years as a fantastic actor, this for me though is where it all began for him in terms of his career. For those that have never seen the film, you're probably wondering what an earth can be interesting about watching a bunch of actors pretend to be drug addicts? There's nothing fun about watching them in that sense. The film to some degree is extremely educational and if not for it's foul language and nudity would probably be shown in schools for educational purposes.

Renton (McGregor) is desperatly trying to come off drugs, the storyline is essentially his journey in becoming clean and the struggles that he faces, being influenced by friends. Johnny Lee Miller plays Sick Boy, Renton's friend who to put it bluntly isn't so keen on coming off drugs, he loves the trip, he loves the ride! Both Miller and McGregor deliver incredible performances through out the film. Of course we can't forget about Renton's other friend Spud played fantastically by Ewan Bremner. The characterisation that he was able to bring to this role is actually quite incredible. Bremner is an extremely underrated Scottish actor. Speaking of Scottish actors, I love that Boyle chose to use Scottish actors in a film set in Scotland. Obviously right? Not always. Robert Carlyle is a remarkable Scottish actor, his performance is absolutely amazing. You'll soon find yourself hating his character, not a nice man. A lot more detail goes into his character in the sequel.

The storyline is quite humorous in places, at the same time moments of the film are quite emotional and are a true opener to the eyes of what a drug addict goes through and deals with on a daily basis. Danny Boyle does have a particularly unique approach to directing most of his films, in all honesty you're either going to really like it or absolutely hate it. The dialogue can be a little bit hard to understand at times if you aren't used to hearing the Scottish accent, the language is shockingly foul. It does coincide with the characters quite well though, these are people that don't even care about themselves let alone what comes out of their mouth.

Director Danny Boyle and Cinematographer Brian Tufano have captured unique shots to emphasizes moments where Renton is tripping out, high as a kite. Unique shots shown in his recovery to come off of heroin. The production department have been particularly clever with their set design, Renton's bedroom, the walls have trains all over them, clearly hinting at the title name. Many people will probably wonder about the title name "Trainspotting" what exactly does that mean? It's more a reference to a scene in the novel in which they are asked if they are going trainspottin, an abandoned train station popular for drug addicts. The soundtrack works perfectly alongside the characters and the storyline. Underworld's "Dark and Long Train" works beautifully in a scene where Renton is recovering from a heroin overdose. A very British soundtrack to go with a very British movie. If you're looking for something a little bit different then this might be for you!

DVD Special Features:

Memories of Trainspotting: 

42 minute featurette with Director Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor and Screenwriter John Hodge and how they went from novel to script to the big screen!

5/5 stars