Brilliantly written and played, incredible dialogue, not for morons

Rating: Null/10 (13 November 2003)

There's a good reason why the imdb recommendations guide, which lists movies that those who liked Trainspotting should also like, lists some of the greatest, most critically acclaimed movies ever made. It's because this is one of them, and rightfully so. It won critical acclaim across the globe for its gritty portrayal of the unfortunate existence of a hapless group of losers and drug addicts, living the low life in Edinburgh, Scotland.
It is a dialogue driven movie, though, so if you don't get the lines, and don't understand the humor, which is very dry at times, and never comes in the form of a 'joke', you'll unknowingly call this movie "slow" or "depressing" or "bad." In a delightfully madcap exchange when Renton announces he's through with heroin, the lines "...he's lacking in moral fiber" "He knows a lot about Sean Connery." "Thats hardly a substitute!" sums up the writing quite well. It only works in the context of the scene itself, but the way it's played and the scene it's set in make it beyond hilarious.
It's one of the most powerfully written and played movies I've ever seen. Renton (Ewan McGregor), the main character, undergoes pseudo metamorphases to illustrate his own attempts at regaining his sanity. His friends, who enter the movie with static roles, illustrate their own inability to change by remaining undeveloped, only sinking deeper into their self-created abysses.
Tommy (Kevin McKidd), who falls victim to heroin addiction and dies from it after entering the movie as the epitome of clean, healthy living, undergoes a downward spiral which we flash into occasionally to see how he's being rapidly destroyed by drugs about which he professed "I'm an adult, I can find out for myself."
Though Renton's character is the only one which is fully explored, all of Renton's "so called friends" are cleanly written, well summarized, and do their part to create the air of hostility and pressure which Renton faces in his battle to rid himself of heroin.
Begbie, played with powerful energy by Robert Carlyle, adds much needed comic relief with his hilarious and sometimes disturbing violent outbursts, while exposing the ironic nature of his legal addiction to alcohol when played in the background of a heroin movie.
Diane, his love interest, simply adds to the pressure of life, using him for sex and echoing the chorus from his non-drug user friends and family members that he's destroying his life, "poisoning [his] body with that sh!te."
It gets depressing at times, as it should, to properly illustrate the horror and depravity that comes with the lifestyle. The "carpet" scene couldn't have been more brilliantly imagined to portray the feeling of emptiness and detachment as Renton nears death from an overdose.
Overall, it gets a 10. This movie can't lose when played to an audience with the intelligence, wit, and sense of humor to understand it.