Choose Life. Choose Britain's Greatest Ever Film!

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2017)

"Trainspotting" – The knockabout 1996 heroin-addict ensemble piece which put Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor on the map, immortalised Irvine Welsh's bestselling novel and proved a shot in the arm for 1990's British Cinema and it's greatest creation.
It is the 1996 British black comedy-drama film which starred Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald. A classic which underwent the direction of Danny Boyle, the narration of Ewan McGregor and a screenplay by John Hodge based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh — resulting in an unexpected pop culture phenomenon, defining not only the 90's generation but setting the future tone for British Film Institute as well. It's a film that made British cinema seem exciting again and restored its golden period rather than a fusty factory of period dramas which was ongoing for half a decade. And it became a classic that is still being talked about today, with a sequel finally on the way in less than a month. It is often described as black comedy, but I would liken it more to a drama with a crude, dark sense of humour. Trainspotting is the rare drug addiction-tale to tackle serious material without taking itself too seriously.
Although set in Edinburgh, almost all of the film was shot in Glasgow, apart from the opening scenes, which were shot in Edinburgh, and the final scenes which were shot in London. The film showcases the misadventures of mainly five young men in Edinburgh trying to find their way out of joblessness, aimlessness to aimless relationships and relentless drug addiction. Some are successful, while others hopelessly are not. The title, "Trainspotting" is a metaphor. The "Trans- Potters" are people playing a kind of game is to watch the trains go all day and record their numbers. This game is synonymous with boredom and from all forms of addictive or compulsive activity, so you can make a comparison with the drug. But the metaphor can also represent, as Renton sees trains to take, opportunities to stop the drugs and leave his friends, but he does nothing, except at the end where he took his chance and chose the train (of life). The film's story-line eventually divulges into an epic tale of struggle with both addiction and poverty through the lives of these young drug users or heroin addicts, trying to make their own journeys.
Renton, a pro heroin-addict, played by McGregor is the main protagonist. He is also the narrator as the film centres around his life and the scuffles he undergoes with addiction. Although he eventually wants to change his life and quit heroin. But his willpower gets caught in between his junk habit and his never-ending lust for one final shot before he'd quit or can finally quit. He believes: when you're on junk you have only one worry: scoring. Human relationships and all the other things really don't matter when you've got a sincere and truthful junk habit.
All the characters in this film, apart from Renton are also well defined and have very specific characteristics. However, they share the same idea: to escape society's rules by taking drugs, each in his own way. They refuse to integrate the universal mode and the consumer society, much more despaired than they are. This aversion is clearly shown by the image of the parents of Renton, leading a sordid life and bouffant of entertainment in their pathetic homes. Mark, Spud and Sick Boy choose drugs to touch the bottom, that is to say, the sense of life.
McGregor is more than ably abetted by a superb supporting cast, including Jonny Lee Miller as suave, Byronesque sociopath Sick Boy, Robert Carlyle as snarling, repressed, hard-drinking psychopath Begbie, and Ewen Bremner as the endearingly inept Spud. Their behaviour towards one another is often deplorable, but the film is propelled by an underlying sense of camaraderie. As critic Roger Ebert so astutely observed at the time: "The reason there is a fierce joy in Trainspotting, despite the appalling things that happen in it, is that it's basically about friends in need."
The actual theme of the film was rather simple. Friends are your companions through bad times and good times as they say but with Renton's situation, these friends are actually an option. Would you take them or not? Being comfortable and at ease with your friends is good as long as we know our limitations because friends can't always prank you on what's on their minds.