Trainspotting (1996)

In the midst of the pop-culture that was spilling over in the mid nineties, director Danny Boyle shared this fasted paced creation with the world. Trainspotting (1996) follows a group of young people in Edinburgh immersed in a world of addiction to drugs, they are their world, and nothing will tear them away from them.

We follow Ewan McGregor‘s character Renton who acts as our guide in this lost world of drug users. He wants to see the light but finds this difficult as any user. Addicted to heroin his drive is there the face of a culture that has everything he wants but has no real chance of achieve unless he kicks the habit.

In what can only be described as an innovative film that sees him begin to make a success of himself. Surrounded by colourful characters than enrich this film as they try to interact with society but fall short on their addictions.

I can not get out of my head the cold turkey sequence that sees Renton slowly recover in his childhood bedroom, as he faces his demons in one hallucination after another. Even if the crawling baby on the ceiling is obviously mechanical, it makes the sequence even more disturbing for the audience and Renton.

A clear product of its time that you want to revisit as it rekindles memories of the time, with memorable characters that have their own life beyond the film as it draws to a close.

Related articles

• Scottish News: McGregor becomes OBE-Wan Kenobi (acadvertiser.co.uk)
• Boyle believed to have turned down New Year Honour (itv.com)
• Q&A: Ewan McGregor on The Impossible (awardsline.com)

 

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