Trainspotting (film)
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| Trainspotting | |
|---|---|
| |
| Directed by | Danny Boyle |
| Produced by | Andrew Macdonald |
| Written by | Novel: Irvine Welsh Screenplay: John Hodge |
| Starring | Ewan McGregor Jonny Lee Miller Robert Carlyle Ewen Bremner Kevin McKidd Kelly Macdonald |
| Music by | Damon Albarn |
| Distributed by | Polygram |
| Release date(s) | February 23, 1996 |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £3,500,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Trainspotting is a 1996 Academy Award nominated, BAFTA winning cult film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. The movie is about a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh and their passage through life. It stars Ewan McGregor as Mark Renton, Ewen Bremner as Spud Murphy, Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy, Kevin McKidd as Tommy, Robert Carlyle as Begbie and Kelly Macdonald as Dianne. Author Irvine Welsh also has a brief appearance as drug dealer Mikey Forrester.
The screenplay was adapted from Welsh's novel by John Hodge. It does not contain any references to the non-drug-related hobby of train spotting. The title is a reference to an episode in the original book (not included in the film) where Begbie and Renton meet "an auld drunkard" in the disused Leith Central railway station, which they are visiting to use as a toilet. He asks them (in a weak attempt at a joke) if they are "trainspottin'". As they walk away, Renton realizes the drunk was Begbie's father (p309, Minerva edition).
Its release sparked controversy in some countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, as to whether it promoted drug use or not. U.S. Senator, Bob Dole, decried its moral depravity and glorification of drug use during the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign, although he admitted that he had not actually seen the film.
Despite the controversy, it was praised as an inventive, highly effective film and received a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in that year's Academy Awards. In 1999 the film came 10th in a BFI poll of British films, while in 2004 the magazine Total Film named it the 4th greatest British film of all time.
The film's release was supported by an imaginative marketing campaign using flyers inspired by rave culture and posters of each of the main actors. Owing to illness, Kevin McKidd went on holiday having finished shooting for the film and did not attend the photoshoot for the posters.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Ewan McGregor | Mark "Rents" / "Rent Boy" Renton |
| Ewen Bremner | Daniel "Spud" Murphy |
| Jonny Lee Miller | Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson |
| Robert Carlyle | Francis Begbie |
| Kevin McKidd | Tommy MacKenzie |
| Kelly Macdonald | Dianne Forman |
| Peter Mullan | Swanney (Mother Superior) |
| James Cosmo | Mr. Renton |
| Eileen Nicholas | Mrs. Renton |
| Susan Vidler | Allison |
| Pauline Lynch | Lizzy |
| Shirley Henderson | Gail |
| Irvine Welsh | Mikey Forrester |
[edit] Plot
Set in Edinburgh, the film begins with a narration from Mark "Rent-Boy" Renton (Ewan McGregor) as he urges people from all walks of life to "choose life" - meaning they should choose to live a traditional family lifestyle with children, holidays and material possessions. As the narration continues, we are introduced to Renton's four friends: Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner), Tommy (Kevin McKidd) and Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle). As the narration ends, we see Renton in a dirty flat with his friends preparing a needle and drugs. His train of thought ends with: "Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?" and we see that Renton left the path of orthodoxy long ago for the pleasures of heroin and other drugs (this is the first of his many narrations, which continue throughout the movie).
Sick Boy, a James Bond trivia expert and less-than-trustworthy guy, is also a heroin addict, as is Spud, a quirky and squirrely friend. Tommy and Begbie, on the other hand, openly criticise heroin use; Tommy is always with his girlfriend, Lizzie, while Begbie is a violence-prone psychopath (as Renton points out: "Begbie didn't do drugs. He did people." This point is further illustrated in a bar scene where Begbie, throws his pint glass off a bar balcony and uses the injury of a woman below as an excuse to start a brawl with pubgoers).
The movie begins to follow the quintet as they go through life - mostly focusing on the drug addictions of Sick Boy, Spud and Renton. Sick Boy and Renton agree to quit heroin, and start off well enough, then join Tommy, Begbie and Spud in a dance club where all five men are in pursuit of sex. Begbie and Sick Boy pick up girls at the club. The other three men have more complicated nights. After complaining about his relationship problems to his mates, Tommy takes Lizzie home for sex. Their desire to make love while watching a porno video of themselves is unsuccessful because Renton stole their tape earlier in the film. Tommy believes he returned it to the video rental store accidentally - a point of contention with Lizzie that later leads to the relationship's end. Spud drinks too much, as he's in a temporary no-sex relationship with his girlfriend, Gail. That night when Gail tries to reopen their sex life, Spud passes out and defecates on her parents' bed. Renton flirts with a young girl named Dianne, who quickly dissects his bad chat-up lines, but takes him home anyway. After the two have sex, Renton is forced to sleep on a couch outside her bedroom and discovers the next morning that he is actually at her parents' house and that she is an underage high school student. He tries to end their relationship, but she blackmails him into staying in contact lest she call the police and tells of their one-night stand.
With their quest to be sober not as thrilling as hoped, Sick Boy, Spud and Renton get back on heroin. The film shows a montage of drug taking and dirty dealings, while Renton narrates that he and his mates tried all drugs known to man while only having one thing on their mind: When's my next score and what do I have to do to get it? At this point, Tommy is dumped by Lizzie and looks for solace in heroin like his mates, having been told it's "the ultimate hit ... Better than sex." Renton's life of stealing and drugs continues on, but quickly takes many turns for the worse - beginning with the screaming of Allison at their flat. While all the men sleep, Allison, another heroin addict and flat regular, screams uncontrollably when she finds her baby daughter has died. The cause of death is not given explicitly. All are shocked and feel terrible - Sick Boy most of all (as he is the father). A short time later, Renton and Spud are caught stealing from a department store. Spud goes to jail but Renton avoids incarceration by voluntarily enlisting in a drug treatment programme where he is supplied with the opiate substitute methadone.
Even though his journey to sobriety begins with much love from his parents and mates (such as Sick Boy and Begbie), within hours Renton is back at the flat of his dealer - named Mother Superior for the length of his habit - and orders more heroin. Renton overdoses on the heroin and is dragged carelessly by Mother Superior and a taxi driver to the hospital, where nurses save his life. Seeing no other option, Renton's parents lock him in his own room to beat the addiction cold turkey. He has several hallucinations, including Spud in jail, a now drug addicted (and possibly HIV infected) Tommy, and - famously - Allison's dead baby crawling toward him on the ceiling.
Finally clean of heroin, Renton feels no purpose in life and decides to move to London and start a job as a property letting agent. Renton continues his sobriety while enjoying the vibrancy of London and saving up some money on the side. His happiness is again short-lived, however, as Begbie arrives at his London flat seeking a hiding place because the police are after him for armed robbery. Sick Boy suddenly shows up and decides to live with them as well - and once again, Renton is frustrated that he cannot turn these "mates" away. As things are boiling over in the small space, the three are told of Tommy's death of toxoplasmosis back in Scotland. They return home and meet Spud, who is now out of jail.
Following Tommy's funeral, Sick Boy suggests a large and dangerous drug deal opportunity for them; the chance to buy two kilos of heroin for £4000 and sell it for up to £20,000. Begbie puts up much of the payment money, having just won a large bet, then demands Renton put up the rest, as Begbie has seen Renton's bank statements and knows he can afford it. Though he has bad feelings about the deal and will have to try heroin again in the course of it, Renton has no choice but to agree. The foursome meet a big-time heroin dealer and end up selling the heroin for £16,000 - leading to a rare afternoon of pure joy between all four mates. Mere hours after the deal is finished, Begbie draws a knife on an unarmed man in a pub and beats him almost to death while accidentally slicing Spud's hand open as well. Renton decides, as Begbie stands over the beaten man and demands a cigarette to come down from his "high", that he is going to steal the money from his mates, who he is starting to realise are not really his mates at all.
That night, Renton pulls the bag of money away from a sleeping Begbie before he leaves. Taking the money and his passport, he leaves the country and starts a new life: the life he described at the beginning of the film. When Begbie awakes, he is furious and begins to destroy the room, attracting the attention of the police. Sick Boy goes home empty-handed. Renton, however, leaves £2000 for Spud in a locker at the airport.
[edit] Renton's narration
Renton's constant narration is an example of an unreliable narrator. Several times in the film, he speaks of "one last hit" or a "final hit," though, of course, the heroin wears off quickly and he soon seeks another hit to feed his addiction. At the end of the film, he pledges to "choose life" (and go straight) but the £16,000 slung over his shoulder, as well as his recent reintroduction to heroin use, make his statement questionable. The last time we see Renton inject heroin, he notes that "there are final hits and final hits. Which one was this going to be?" By not answering his own question, he keeps audiences guessing whether he will indeed "choose life". (There is also a double meaning implying that any hit may be the one that kills him).
[edit] Critical reception
In the UK, the film garnered almost universal praise from critics. Time Out London called the film "a triumph," saying, "audaciously punching up the pitch-black comedy, juggling parallel character strands and juxtaposing image, music and voice-over with a virtuosity worthy of Scorsese on peak form, Trainspotting the movie captures precisely Welsh's insolent, amoral intelligence."[1]
The Guardian newspaper gave the film credit for actually tapping into the youth subculture of the time, compared to other (now forgotten) contemporary British cinema. [2]
Around the rest of the world, the film was also highly praised. Esteemed American critic, Roger Ebert, heaped praise on the film for its stark, realistic portrayal of addicts' experiences with each other. [3]
Metacritic[4] and Rotten Tomatoes[5], sites which search for multiple reviews of films, gave it marks in the high 80s.
The film is also extremely popular with viewers, consistently scoring highly on IMDb's Top 250 list.[6]
[edit] Sequel
Boyle has stated his wish to make a sequel to Trainspotting which will take place 10 years after the original film, based on Irvine Welsh's sequel, Porno. [citation needed]He is reportedly waiting until the original actors themselves age visibly enough to portray the same characters, ravaged by time; Boyle joked that the natural vanity of actors would make it a long wait[citation needed].
[edit] Other versions
Upon its initial release in the United States, the first 20 minutes of Trainspotting were re-edited with alternate dialogue. Because of the strong Scottish accents and language of the characters, it was believed that American audiences might have difficulty understanding them. The original dialogue was later restored on the Criterion Collection laserdisc in 1997 and then on the re-release of the "Director's Cut (Collector's Edition)" DVD in 2004.
[edit] Stage adaptation
Soon after publication, the book was adapted for the stage. The stage version inspired the film, and regularly toured the UK in the mid 1990s.
[edit] Parodies
- The film has been parodied on the animated FOX series The Simpsons in episode 317, The Regina Monologues which originally aired on November 23, 2003.
- In the Family Guy episode Love Thy Trophy, Stewie becomes addicted to pancakes, and the subsequent aftermath mirrors Renton's withdrawal from heroin. The same movie scene was also parodied in the series Drawn Together in the episode The Other Cousin, where Wooldoor Sockbat sees Bamm-Bamm Rubble crawling on the top of the ceiling when having a withdrawal from the hallucinogen he had been licking off of Ling-Ling.
[edit] Trivia
- The Trainspotting Soundtracks were two best-selling albums of music centred around the film. The first is a collection of songs featured in the film, while the second includes those left out from the first soundtrack and extra songs that inspired the filmmakers during production.
- Corrour railway station is the setting for the "great outdoors" scene in the film.
- Talgarth Road, where Renton lives when he moves to London, is part of the A4 road.
- Sick Boy is a fan of James Bond in the novel as well as the movie. Interestingly, Jonny Lee Miller (who plays Sick Boy) is the grandson of Bernard Lee (who plays the character M in the first 11 James Bond films).
- The Eureka Seven character Renton Thurston is named after the main character Mark Renton.
[edit] References
- Smith, Murray. 2002. Trainspotting. London: BFI
[edit] External links
- Article on Trainspotting
- Trainspotting at the Internet Movie Database
- Trainspotting at Rotten Tomatoesca:Trainspotting
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