F*cking brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (27 January 2008)

Trainspotting is what film should be: honest, imaginative, surprising, and groundbreaking.
LIke Goodfellas, Trainspotting is a meandering movie that manages to grip you the entire time. It is funny and heartbreaking at the same time, anchored by Ewan MacGregor's absolutely devastating performance as Renton. Put his performance up against the Best Actor nominees in any given year and I dare you to say it doesn't belong.
Contrary to what others have posted, Trainspotting absolutely made an impact here in the States. That may have been to Danny Boyle's detriment as he's never quite reached the same heights since.
But for us, in the U.S., you have to realize that it was basically a foreign film because you can't understand about 25% of the dialogue because the accent is so thick. Begbie's dialogue is purposely opaque, I think. Not that it matters - the performance is rock solid.
If you haven't seen the movie, go out and get it. It's in my all-time Top 10, and it holds up beautifully over time.