This is the first cult classic review of a movie I had scene before I watched it to do the review of it. Also, I watched it over the course of 3 days in class, so my perspective may be a little different. I have always believed Danny Boyle to be an overrated director. He has an interesting visual style and creates a few great shots, but as a story teller he is weak and lacks focus. He and Guy Ritchie have that in common. This was the movie that broke Boyle into the big time. It also launched the career of Ewan McGregor.
Is Trainspotting a movie glamorizing drugs or is it a cautionary tale in the same vein as Requiem for a Dream? Does it really matter? Are movies supposed to take sides on an issue? Sure they can, but is that the point of a movie- to take a side? Trainspotting follows the lives of a bunch of British Junkies. That is the basic idea of the story. McGregor plays Renton, a man who "chooses" heroin because it is easy. Addiction to heroin means you only have one worry- finding heroin. You are not worried about all the other little things in life. You just need to find money to get high. You rob stores if you have to, but you get the drugs. Renton tries to quit a few times, but he keeps the same friends and that spells disaster.
However, like any Danny Boyle movie it is not about plot, it is about the visuals. And in that department this movie definitely succeeds. It succeeds in grossing us out, tripping us out, scaring us and making us laugh. The use of quick cuts give us the impression of what it is like to be high while making us laugh at a scene where a heroin user is trying to get a real job. When Renton is going through withdrawals we get a very visually disorienting scene with a fake baby crawling on the ceiling and quick images of other characters. Boyle does an incredible job of creating a drugged out environment and all of the actors, especially McGregor play their roles within these visuals. They seem to know that Boyle is unsure of what to do with them but they trust he will make it up to them with editing and camera angles, especially the POV shot of Renton after he overdoses.
Trainspotting touches briefly on the HIV epidemic that flooded the drug scene in the Nineties as Tommy catches it. The interesting thing about Tommy is that he was the friend who did not do drugs or drink. He was a clean living guy until his girlfriend broke up with him. he heard Renton talk about how the high from heroin was like multiplying your best orgasm by 1,000 and you still weren't there. He believed him and got hooked. His "friends" kind of ditch him because as everyone knows, a druggie is not a reliable friend. This is a movie 100% about addiction. Everyone in the movie is addicted to something- drugs, alcohol, fighting, working out, sex. It seems to think we are all addicted to something. Life is nothing but an addiction and the time between addictions. In the words of Renton:
Now I'm cleaning up and I'm moving on, going straight and choosing life. I'm looking forward to it already. I'm gonna be just like you. The job, the family, the fucking big television. The washing machine, the car, the compact disc and electric tin opener, good health, low cholesterol, dental insurance, mortgage, starter home, leisure wear, luggage, three piece suite, DIY, game shows, junk food, children, walks in the park, nine to five, good at golf, washing the car, choice of sweaters, family Christmas, indexed pension, tax exemption, clearing gutters, getting by, looking ahead to the day you die.
Final Grade: B+
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