Trainspotting

I still vividly remember the first time I saw the film Trainspotting. From it's eclectic and thundering soundtrack, indelible performances and some of the most inventive visuals I had ever seen in my tender sixteen years of life, this film was unlike anything I had seen before and I loved it all the more for it. I also credit it more than any specific government sponsored program as the ultimate deterrent towards taking hard drugs (namely heroin, but I avoided the lot of it because of this movie and the effects it had on it's characters). Now, twenty years later, there are still entire parts of the film that are forever burned into my brain. 

The film focuses on a group of twentysomething friends, most of whom are heroin addicts, in Edinburgh, Scotland. They consist of Mark Renton (played by Ewan McGregor), Sick Boy (played by Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (played by Ewan Bremmer), Tommy (played by Kevin McKidd) and Begbie (played by Robert Carlyle). The film focuses on their various misadventures, with an unflinching focus on the heavy drug use, especially by Mark, Sick Boy, and Spud, as well as the consequences of their addictions. The film follows the characters, primarily focusing on Mark, as they not only give into their addictions but also the misadventures they get up to in between. There are also a couple of times in the film that Mark decides he's going off heroin with mixed results. 

The film was directed by Danny Boyle from a script by John Hodge and the two managed to produce a film that, for all it's unflinching views of drug addiction and poverty, is a film absolutely filled with life. The film kicks off with the thumping Iggy Pop song "Lust for Life" as Mark and Spud flee from the cops, accompanied by the now iconic "Choose Life" narration by Mark and it absolutely sets the tone for the entire film. The film manages to mix in some more surreal moments in with the startling realistic ones, including Mark diving headfirst into "the worst toilet in Scotland" to retrieve a pair of opiate suppositories he had scored or a moment later in the film when he takes his latest dose of heroin and literally sinks into the floor, dramatizing what the character is feeling on the drug. It's these flourishes by Boyle that are part of what made the film so memorable for many as well as their contrast with the darker parts of the film. 

The performances in the film are quite strong as well. Ewan McGregor leads the cast in the film that was his first big breakthrough as an actor. His natural charisma made it east to like Mark, even when we probably shouldn't. Jonny Lee Miller likewise makes a good turn as Sick Boy, the James Bond obsessed friend of Mark. The two share an interesting friendship as the two seem to try and show the other one up as much as actually being friends, something Mark comments on in the film. Ewan Bremmer is a bit of the comic relief of the film as the goofy Spud, who tries to do right but seems to have the worst luck. Bremmer does a good job portraying Spud, making him a sympathetic character you can't help but feel for when things go wrong. And then there is Robert Carlyle as Begbie, who is a force of nature in this film as the career criminal Begbie, whose drug of choice is alcohol (as opposed to the heroin the others take) and frequently picks fights in the local bars with little regard for the consequences. I sometimes wonder why the others hung out with him since Begbie is such a loose cannon and it's not something the film explains that well, except perhaps they got a thrill seeing what crazy thing he did next.

There was some criticism directed towards Trainspotting around the time of it's release for, as they claimed, glamorizing taking heroin and other heavy drugs. This is something I found surprising and still do after re-watching the film as it the film never shies away from showing the consequences of heroin abuse. It leads to misery and even death. I suppose if one only looks at the surface, with the flashy visuals and thumping soundtrack, it can seem that way. But if you really watch the movie, it's pretty grim in parts and never sugarcoats what hell a long term drug habit can unleash on a person's life and health. If watching the scene of Mark's detox from heroin and the hell it is for his character isn't enough to scare a person off trying any of those heavy drugs, then nothing ever was going to. 

For a film with such heavy and dark subject matter, Trainspotting still remains a favorite because it's also so full of life, from it's eclectic and well picked soundtrack, a charismatic and memorable performance from Ewan McGregor (as well as the entire cast for that matter), and memorable direction from Danny Boyle and a strong script from John Hodge. Unlike some other drug themed films (such as Requiem for a Dream), I've always been able to revisit and enjoy Trainspotting. It's a unique film that finds the right balance between humor and pathos, but never steps away from the stark reality of it's characters at the same time. More than anything, that's what's made it so memorable to me, all these years later.