The adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s controversial novel, the film that put Danny Boyle on the map and the start of a new age of British cinema, Trainspotting has something special fused into its very essence. It goes beyond being a film about heroin and becomes a larger multimedia presentation, evidence of a subculture notoriously difficult to capture on film due to its removal from the public consciousness (both by theirs and the public’s choice). Trainspotting stands as a precursor for films like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Crank in their use of pop culture tropes to inform the audience, because it never intends to be just a straightforward telling of a junkie’s story. It’s a mishmash of the Scottish world it lives in, giving the audience a distorted look at the world as it appears to an addict while never attempting to apologize or explain away the crazy things they do. No matter what Danny Boyle creates from here on out, no matter which genres he’s passed through since, none will ever feel as real or true as Trainspotting.
Renton (Ewan McGregor) has made the same promise every junkie makes once, twice, or weekly: I’m quitting heroin. For awhile, he manages to keep that promise, but he’ll inevitably slip back in as he hangs around with the pale Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), the dim-witted Spud (Ewen Bremner), the boyish Tommy (Kevin McKidd), and the angry alcoholic, Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Within the world those five friends create, they talk about life, women, music, and everything else, all while looking out for the next score. Except for Begbie, the groups preachy hypocrite who abstains from heroin, which can ruin your life, and sticks to alcohol, which can also ruin your life. The friends bounce apart and back together each week, and gradually Renton becomes fed up with the addict’s lifestyle and vows to leave it all behind for good. In his efforts to kick the habit, he locks himself in the room, prepares for withdrawal, and then plans one last scheme to get rich and get out.
A simple summary of the plot can’t adequately prepare you for the imagery Danny Boyle created on screen in his conviction to show everything. From a baby that died of neglect to the anxiety-inducing build-up of Spud splattering a family eating breakfast with a sheet-load of his own feces, Trainspotting’s visuals never want you to feel at ease in the world it portrays. As much as you can relate to their experiences at a core level, the end result they’re driven to often severs the commonality, giving the audience an idea of just how normal a life they lead by comparison. Yet, what is normal?
It’s the question at the soul of the film. What makes you comfortable? A house filled with appliances and a nuclear family? It’s all subjective, so why not do whatever you want and then define that as your ideal world? It’s as legitimate an approach as any other, and it’s the one most people live by. Standards are arbitrary and dependent on social norms. If you hang out with people that do heroin, it’s normal to also do heroin. Quitting an addiction isn’t as simple as cutting the chemical out of your life, it requires cutting the social circumstances out as well, leaving behind your social structure. It’s a change that very few people are really capable or willing to pursue, and it’s the ultimate choice Renton must make. If you can’t decide, choose life and let the world decide for you.
Danny Boyle’s visual style for Trainspotting falls somewhere between gritty in appearance and comical in staging. It’s a beautifully but simply shot film and the HD presentation is sublime. When you reach Renton’s withdrawal scene in the bedroom, you’re at the peak of high-definition junkie vision.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The Blu-ray is a bit disappointing in that it lacks nothing new for its 15th anniversary, and it’s actually a direct port of the Miramax’s collector’s series 2-disc set. The back of the Blu-ray case doesn’t list all the extras the DVD case does, but they’re there. They include: a retrospective on the film, a basic “making of” featurette, teasers, trailers, an image gallery, deleted scenes, and an audio commentary by Boyle, Producer Andrew Macdonald, screenwriter John Hodge, and Ewan McGregor.
"Trainspotting" is on sale September 13, 2011 and is rated R. Comedy, Drama. Directed by Danny Boyle. Written by Irvine Welsh (novel), John Hodge (screenplay). Starring Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle.
