Gut-Level Intelligence Meet Really Bad Habits

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2020)

Now a quarter century old, "Trainspotting" stands as truly bulletproof moviemaking. Floating in an artistically liberated space vaguely shared with "Pulp Fiction," Danny Boyle's master class matches Tarantino's in its spiritedness, violence, and drug-centricity, yet this 1996 dark comedy is also imbued with an eviscerating, street-level British intelligence, resulting in a legendary film with a fingerprint all its own.
Its structure is freeing and brilliant. "Trainspotting" is narrated by Mark Renton (Ewan MacGregor), a young street urchin and smack addict whose habit hasn't diluted the venom he spits at England, Scotland, and shoot-up partners Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller). Once they find heroin, they look to find more. But despite that unchanging end-goal, these are brilliantly sketched characters exhibiting a criminality and shiftlessness that perversely endears.
"Trainspotting" showcases elite storytelling by counterpointing the dehumanization of addiction with elite and vibrant humor. This is a classic movie by any definition. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)
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WATCHED IT? THEN WATCHLIST: "Being John Malkovich (1999)," "Stadium Anthems (2018)," "True Romance (1993)."