A personal response to 'Trainspotting' (1996)

Arguably one of the most iconic films of the 90s, Danny Boyle’s trainspotting follows Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor ), a young man struggling to rid himself of his heroin addiction accompanied only by his drug addicted friends and underage girlfriend Diane (Kelly Macdonald). Set in Edinburgh, this exhilarating and thought provoking film presents the viewer with insights in to the many aspects of addiction and obsession, with Renton famously saying “What they forget is the pleasure of it, otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”  However, as the film continues we see the struggles faced by Renton and his friends as a result of their addiction such as the death of Simon’s baby at the start of the film and the death of their friend Tommy later in the film. What interests me about this film is that it shows both the highs and lows of addiction which provides a refreshing change to the usual mundane portrayal. As a lover of the books the film was based on, I was hopeful that it would do the books justice and I wasn’t disappointed. All of the scenes in the film are well directed and keep me entertained no matter how many times I watch them.

                The opening scene is one of the best and most important scenes as it sets the tone for the whole film. We see Renton and his friends running down a busy street to Iggy pops ‘Lust for life’. The fast pace of this song gives the audience a feeling of the rush and euphoria the group experience throughout their high points in the film. This immediately engages the audience, causing them to question why they are running or what they are running from, a question that is soon answered as the camera angle changes and we see them being pursued by the police. This seen quickly indicates that these are not a group ordinary, law-abiding young men. This is the theme throughout the film as they are always running away and they use their drug use as a way of doing so. We see them running away from authority, employment, conformity, family and friends. However, most predominantly we see them running from their own responsibilities and the consequences of their actions. An example of this is when they realise that baby Dawn has died and the mother immediately asks Renton to cook her up a shot of heroin. Another time we see drugs being used to run away from reality is when Tommy, who for most of the film has been against drug use, turns to heroin after his girlfriend breaks up with him as he does not want to face the fact that she is gone. The monologue over the music during this scene “Choose life, choose a job, choose a career, choose a family…” gives Renton’s philosophy of a typical life. The monologue ends with “I chose not to choose life” again reflecting that he is running away from conformity.

                Although all the scenes are hard hitting and draw the viewer deeper in to the story, there are certain scenes that stand out to me. One of these scenes is when Renton climbs into the filthy “worst toilet in Scotland” to retrieve his opium suppository. The dim lighting and grey walls in the bathroom create a depressing atmosphere, showing just how Renton is feeling at the time. In my eyes this scene represents how degrading and dehumanising being an addict can be as he is willing to retrieve drugs from a dirty toilet. This also shows how far addicts are willing to go to get a hit. The lack of lyrics in the tranquil classical music during this scene creates a juxtaposition forcing the audience to focus on the gruesome scene in front of them. The camera angles used in this scene take the viewer close to the toilet, enveloping the audience in Renton’s  experience and showing just how filthy it actually is which helps them to empathise with him a little more. As the scene progresses the director chooses to take the viewer on a dream -like, hallucinogenic fuelled journey with Renton into the toilet itself. To me this represents just how all- consuming it was for him to retrieve his drugs and how detached from reality he had become. During this scene the colour scheme changes from the dull grey to a beautiful deep blue, reflecting the change in Renton’s mind once he had retrieved his drugs.

To summarise, although I find every scene in this film engaging and significant, I think these two stand out as there is a stark contrast between the two. The first scene showing the rush of a high moment in Renton’s life and the latter scene showing the grim reality of the lows he experiences.