TRAINSPOTTING
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
*** (out of 4 = good) 1996, R, 94 minutes [1 hour, 34 minutes] [crime/drama] starring: Ewan McGregor (Mark Renton), Robert Carlyle (Begbie), Johnny Lee Miller (Sick Boy), Kevin McKidd (Tommy), Ewen Bremner (Spud), produced by Andrew Macdonald, written by John Hodge, directed by Danny Boyle, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh.
Films about the destructive power of drugs all have the same message, but none of them dare to show how good drugs can make their user feel. "Trainspotting" dares to play up that angle, as it gets inside modern junkies and examines their mindsets. It allows us to share in the rush and escapism, but also the harsh consequences of it all.
The film starts out with tremendous energy with a fast-paced chase sequence and a narrator describing his escapist lifestyle. His name is Mark Renton (McGregor), a 20-something Scottish "wanker" who says he "chose not to choose life, instead... heroin."
Renton and his friends Sick Boy (Miller), and Spud (Bremner) are all addicted to heroin and describe the high in such a glamorous, detailed manner it is easy to understand the appeal. Renton's other friend Tommy (McKidd) doesn't touch the stuff (at first), but can't help being curious. Then there's Begbie (Carlyle), the nearly psychotic bully of the gang who gets his kicks from drifting and fighting. We don't know how these guys came together, but it's not relevant.
Boyle's direction is fantastic, much like Oliver Stone, he uses hyper editing techniques to define mood. No scene lasts longer than two minutes, in fact, most of them last less than 30 seconds. The story, just like the characters' lifestyle, is constantly shifting and never dwells on the obvious. There are scenes of moody drug parties, surrealistic clubs, quick, cheap sex, etc., all of which add up to a mood of pure nihilism.
Because everything happens so quickly, it would seem as if characterization would be sacrificed, but just the opposite is true. The erratic storytelling tells us all we need to know about the characters, showing how great their highs are, but how horrible their lows can be. There is one scene involving Renton and "The filthiest toilet in Scotland" that perfectly illustrates how pathetic drug addiction can be. It is so disguisting it's impossible not to squirm, but at the same time, the satire of it all is quite funny.
The film uses satire in a very surrealistic manner, much like Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange." However, the reality here is more brutal than "Orange" because the narcotics are stronger and more addictive. When Renton tries to quit cold turkey there is a surrealistic montage so powerful it will probably be as close as a film ever comes in showing the devastating pain drugs can wreck on the mind.
Although there isn't much of a story to the film, the final act does try to set up what will probably be Renton and the gang's final scam. Not surprisingly, when Renton tries to go straight and clean, he has trouble doing so, and the same is true for the film's effort to tell a normal crime story. It doesn't make any major mistakes per se, it's just a bit too jumbled and overwhelming to take seriously.
The anti-drug message in "Trainspotting" is powerful, and its surrealistic style is impressive. Perhaps it could have been even more moving had it not been so strange, but it's still a good film for what it is.
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