Trainspotting (1996)

Rating: 10/10

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Starring: Ewen Mcgregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin Mckidd, Robert Carlyle

"Choose Life", a phrase not uncommon, not philosophically deep, and not elaborate whatsoever, yet it echoes throughout Danny Boyle's "Trainspotting" like an endless abyss. The opposite of life being death is not what one would choose given the option, which makes "Choose Life" all the more dull on the surface. But what is something that one could consciously choose that gets as close to death as possible, and in fact, even tempt it? That's right, heroin. This simple, cheap, and wildly addictive drug is what courses through the veins of the film, and for many, pollutes it completely. Those who feel this way, I believe, are wildly misguided. Trainspotting is a film not necessarily about heroin addiction, but about the monotony of everyday life for 99% of the world's population. In the character's minds, the choice between life and heroin is simple. If they choose life, they are able to choose everything our main character Renton lists in his opening monologue, a job, electrical tin openers, junk food, fixed interest mortgage repayments, you get the idea. If they choose life they get to be sheep like everyone else, doing the things society pushes on them until they die, "pushing away (their) last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats (they) spawned to replace (themselves)". In order to avoid this sad reality, where do they turn? The only answer for them is heroin. These are not people who have gone through insanely strenuous circumstances and did not want to try heroin but were driven to it. These are bored, helpless, and completely careless junkies. They would rather shoot up and veg out than deal with a 9 to 5, or their personal health, or with raising a child. This pessimistic view on life comes to a head when Tommy convinces the gang (minus Begbie might I add, probably not his thing) to go for a hike in the Scottish mountains. Tommy attempts to incite some patriotism in them, to which Renton immediately rebuttals, "It's shite being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low! The scum of the fucking Earth!"

Danny Boyle masterfully uses this heroin addiction as the driving point for the entire film, but does not let it become the entire film, which focuses mainly on Renton, but also his four friends, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud, and Tommy. Inside the first two minutes we are already given a great idea of who these characters will become, just by watching a short clip of each of them playing soccer. Sick Boy trips an opponent and is penalized, to which he is outraged. Begbie carelessly slide tackles an opponent head over heels, smiling as he does. Spud is in goal and misses a save, shrugging it off while he is yelled at. Tommy is pinned in a corner and yells to his friends for help, but to no avail.

The score of Trainspotting is wildly underrated, and there are three specific instances where I truly believe Boyle could not have picked better songs to fit the scene. The first of these is the opening sequence. We begin with a low shot, just of Renton and Spud's feet as they run from police, and we track in front of them, later cutting to a mid shot of their torso and heads. This paired with the upbeat drumming in Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life", and played under Renton's monologue mesh perfectly together. It almost seems as if even Renton and Spud's steps time up with the beat. Now think about the song title for a second, as well as how many times the phrase "Lust for Life" is repeated. Is this not exactly how Renton feels? He certainly does not love life by any standard, but is able to find a perverted enjoyment in it due to his heroin use with his friends. The second instance is when Iggy Pop's "Nightclubbing" plays while Boyle cuts between Renton scoring, cooking, and shooting heroin. This sedated track pairs perfectly with the sedated high of the drug, and the slowly edited montage allows viewers time to truly soak in each aspect of what it is like to be on heroin while keeping with the pace of the song. The final instance is when Lou Reed's "Perfect Day", plays over Renton's overdose scene. The repetition of the line "You just keep me hanging on", can be taken as a double meaning here. His dealer, the taxi driver, and the nurses, all keep him hanging onto life, but the heroin also has it's hooks in him, and he is stuck hanging onto it. Boyle loves using previously existing music that he himself enjoys in his films, and I feel his connection to this music allows him to feel out a song for a scene and really make sure it fits as opposed to having someone else come up with a score.

The cinematography and allegory within Renton's overdose scene is just as rich as the score. As he shoots up all goes quiet. He sinks into the carpet, giving a visual to the sinking feeling of a heroin high. From here on we consistently cut back to Renton's point of view, where we see the red carpet he sank into on the edges of the screen. If you did not know any better, you may think that they look like curtains on the side of a stage preparing to close, just like Renton's life due to the lethal amount of heroin coursing through him. As the nurse rather un-lovingly resuscitates Renton, he sits up, and the curtains fall. He has narrowly made it to his next act, a far bigger score than merely buying heroin.

Once Renton is able to get his act straight, all seems well. He is alone, in London, and doing alright given where he came from, this is until Begbie shows up, followed by Sick Boy. It is around this point where we realize that it is not the heroin that is keeping Renton down, it is his friends. This is a hard pill to swallow, and as they drag Renton into a major drug deal, he is faced with the ultimate decision: betray his friends and start a new, hopefully successful life alone, or take his cut and return to his self-destructive life? Here again we come to a crossroads that many can relate to, leave everything you've ever known behind and dive head first into something unknown, or be stagnant, and let the world eat you whole. Let's just say I'm glad Renton decided the way he did.

About My Blog

Welcome to my blog! In this blog I will be writing reviews on random movies from many different eras of film, as well as giving my personal views and some insight as to how they were made. Some of the movies I post about will be my favorites, some will be ones I have recently watched, and others will be random movies I have seen in the past. I will make at the very least one post per week and would love for others to discuss their personal viewpoints on any movies I mention. If I wish to discuss any spoilers, I will give an alert ahead of time. Thank you for visiting my blog and enjoy!