Is this what it means to be Scottish?

Rating: Null/10 (3 December 1999)

Trainspotting (TS) is an example of the kind of film that makes a big splash in the USA but could never be made by Hollywood. Easily one of the best movies of the 1990s, TS captures a sense of realism that eludes big American studios. Most Americans choose to see the movie as a cautionary tale about heroin and drug use but this view misses the mark. All the heroin excesses of the movie's central characters, Renton, Spud, Sick-Boy, Tommy, etc., pale when compared to the alcoholic pyschopath Begbie. Trainspotting is really a very hard look at the shallowness and purposelessness of life in the `post-industrial' world. Using the old Scottish capital, Edinburgh, as its principal backdrop, TS touches on all aspects of post-Thatcher Britain, from unemployment, urban decay, welfare, Aids, to drugs, sex, and pornography, as seen in the lives of a group of Scottish youths. The movie is about surviving in the late 20th Century world.
The performances by all are superb. Ewan MacGregor is spectacular as the movie's chief protagonist, and even the smallest roles are well acted. Throughout TS, the use of music, locales, flash-backs, and voice-over narration, is well conceived and creates a gritty pace. The extreme realism is achieved by a surrealistic use of shock, humor, and mood. There are both truly shocking and very funny moments in this movie. But more than just a mirror on decayed modern society, Trainspotting is a story of ultimate triumph. Don't miss this one!