Trainspotting
Monday, August 11, 2008
“Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a starter home. Choose dental insurance, leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?”
This is one of those movies that is both painfully funny and morbid at the same time. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time and I’ve seen it dozens of times. I enjoy twisted, dark humor and awesome dialog with a touch of surrealism thrown in.
Trainspotting is the story of Renton [Ewan McGregor], a young heroin addict from Edinburgh, who’s ready to kick his habit despite the fact that most of his friends aren’t. They’re basically a bunch of guys who can’t handle the idea of growing up and submitting to the hopeless daily grind, so they let the good times role while milking the system, unaware of the eventual consequences. But they become painfully aware soon enough when they realize that heroin isn’t better than the mundaneness of life, given the alternative…
This movie has an amazing cast playing some really great characters. Along with Ewan McGregor’s ‘Rents’, there’s Jonny Lee Miller’s ‘Sick Boy’ – the worlds biggest Sean Connory fan who can kick his heroin habit anytime he wants, “thereby downgrading” Rent’s own struggle… There’s ‘Spud’ played by Ewen Bremner [you might recognize him from Black Hawk Down's 'Nelson', or AVP's 'Graeme Miller'] – a kooky, not-so-bright, yet funny guy [who's accent is really tough to understand if you're not familiar with the Scottish accent -you've been warned...], who’s biggest goal in life is to get laid, and who probably has one of the most embarrassing experiences any of us could fathom… Kevin McKidd plays ‘Tommy’ [best know as 'Lucius Vorenus' from the HBO series Rome] - the clean-living, athletic friend who finds himself curious about his friends’ attraction to drugs and decides to see for himself… Robert Carlyle plays their older friend ‘Begbie’ who has massive anger management issues and is a total psycho… And then there’s Kelly McDonald who plays Renton’s underaged girlfriend ‘Diane’ [see lately in No Country for Old Men].
Based on the book by Irvine Welsh, it’s no surprise it was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay. There are plenty of whacked-out, disturbing images in this movie, including plenty of shooting up and gross bathroom scenes, so it’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re a Ewan McGregor fan or you just like quirky characters and killer dialog, you’ll dig this.
4 out of 5.
Add’l Info: Released: Jul 19, 1996 • Runtime: 94 minutes • Rated R for graphic heroin use and resulting depravity, strong language, sex, nudity and some violence • Photo credit: movieweb.com, origin unknown
