It will grow on you

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2010)

I finally got around to watching this movie to see what all the fuss was about. I will admit that upon the first viewing, like many others who have reviewed it here, I did not like the film that much. I could see where it was going for laughs but I couldn't get too far past my visceral reaction to seeing people shoot up heroin. Plus, I'll admit I had some difficulty following it with the thick Scottish brogue.
However, upon a second viewing,I picked many more things up and it got to be much more humorous and clever, albeit still quite dark. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can get yourself to look at it the right way, then the language and even the sex doesn't seem gratuitous but even integral to the movie.
Robert Carlyle is great as Begbie (I love the scene in the bar where he's recounting his game of pool with Tommy). It's really hard to believe that this is the same actor who played Renard in the The World is Not Enough just two years later. Ewan MacGregor simultaneously plays repulsive and engaging very well. Kelly Macdonald's speech outside the nightclub to him is also one of the film's better moments.
In all, it gets richer and richer with successive viewings. It will never be everyone's cup of tea, but it's worth the attention its received.