Trainspotting
released 1996
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“Trainspotting” is a British, sinister comedy based on the 1993 novel written by Irvine Welsh. The screenplay was written by John Hodge and it was produced by Andrew Macdonald and directed by Danny Boyle. It stars Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremmer, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Peter Mullan, James Cosmo, Eileen Nicholas, Susan Vilder, Pauline Lynch, Shirley Henderson, Stuart McQuarrie, Irvine Welsh (The author himself), Dale Winton, Dirk Robertson and many more.

Trainspotting IMDb webpage

“Trainspotting” takes place in the depressed suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland among a band of heroin addicts. The protagonist is Mark Renton, played by Ewan McGregor. He is as deeply stuck and navigating the underground world of petty crimes and heroin addiction as his friends sick boy, played by Jonny Lee Miller, Spud, played by Ewen Bremmer, tommy, played by Kevin McKidd, Begbie, played by Robert Carlyle, and Diane, played by Kelly Macdonald. The film pokes fun with sinister humor the world of heroin addiction. We see how this group of addicts live and only think only of their next score. It´s shocking and strange to see how anyone can agree to live the way they do and never consider that a better life exists outside of the reality they constructed for themselves.

This is a well made movie that shows a very serious issue from the point of view of the people dealing with that issue. We see the self-deception they practice on themselves that keeps them blind to the realization of the power decisions have on the creation of our reality. It´s movies like this one that makes us realize how much a person´s mentality influences the decisions they make and what they are attracted to. I mean, we watch scene after scene of people who gravitate toward a substance that will eventually kill them without any outrage or fear.

Take Begbie for example. He always manages to find himself in a situation where he is slighted and must fight someone. The truth of the matter is that he is a violent person who seeks out violence the way his friends seek out heroin. They are all peas in a pod, as the expression goes.

I understand that this movie does not appeal to all audiences. I mean it takes place in a depressing neighborhood with people who are either stuck or don´t care much about anything. It´s a dreary setting with dreary people but I think to appreciate this film you cannot see the film from the outside looking in. You have to see things from the point of view of the characters and accept the psychological prisons they all occupy. And that is why the film is brilliant because it makes it so easy to do just that.

So, get out there and give “Trainspotting” a chance. It´s a good film and a cautionary tale, in its own twisted way.

John

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