All teens should see this movie

Rating: 10/10 (13 June 1999)

The first time I saw this movie, I turned it off part way. Why would anyone want to see a movie about a bunch of druggies? Then one day I was flipping channels and I came across this movie. Wow! I love this movie so much, because it offers a real, no-nonsense, b.s.-free look at the people who do drugs, their 'friends', and their lifestyle. It offers a reason _why_ people wreck their lives with heroin, and that's something I have never seen before. Excellent character study. Ewan McGregor is a natural in the lead role (it is this role that caught George Lucas' attention), and Robert Carlyle is perfectly cast as Begbie. The rest of the cast falls in line and it works very well. Watch for the description of a high at the beginning of the movie - it is very well done. To sum it up: combine 'Forrest Gump' with 'The Basketball Diaries' and this is what you'd get. Read the book.