Confusing film - but still pretty damn good.

Rating: 7/10 (16 August 1999)

I didn't see this film at the cinema, which was probably a mistake. I think its impact would have been all the greater on the big screen. As it was, I settled for the Green edition.
Is this film pro-drugs? Given that it shows the deaths of both a baby and the friend of the central characters as a result, hardly. Is it anti-drugs? Not so you'd notice - it doesn't preach. It shows you the lives the heroin addicts live, and leaves you to draw your own conclusions.
Marvellous acting, centreing (of course) on Renton, although Begbie was a fascinating role, which made you think: why DO these people associate with such a nutter? Favourite character has to be Spud, wonderfully blissed-out.
There isn't a strong plot running through the film, it's more a succession of scenes illustrating the lives of the central characters. The sub-plot connected with the big drug deal felt a bit tacked-on and unconvincing, but that's a fairly minor quibble.
Not for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached, although the Worst Toilet scene goes into surreal overdrive, while Spud's 'accident' is just plain funny.
The additional scenes in the Green edition - rough cuts that didn't make the final edit, following the end of the film - were a welcome bonus; I felt that one or two of them would actually have made the film a bit more coherent.