Movie review: Trainspotting

Résumé du document

Many films deal with drugs. Among those, there are - Scarface, The Godfather, Revolver and so on. This theme is popular in Anglo-Saxon cinema. Trainspotting directed by Danny Boyle is a film which deals with drugs in a blunt way. A group of friends, in the nineties, in Edinburgh, are only interested in sex and drugs above all. At some point, one of them – Renton, the main character (voice-over commentary) – tries to get out of it. Indeed, as the film unfolds, they do away with themselves, but eventually, Renton chooses life, leaving his friends because they have become too intrusive. We will see that Trainspotting reflects and refers to English society (and government) of that period.

Originally, Trainspotting is an autobiographical novel written by Irvine Welsh, in 1993. Indeed, Renton is like Irvine Welsh, when he was younger, Irvine was a drug-addict (ecstasy, which wrote about it in a novel called Ecstasy in 1996) an alcoholic, and spent his time between Edinburgh and London (like Renton who works in London, or goes to London with his friends to sell drugs). Moreover, at some point, Welsh worked as an estate agent (like Renton). So, we can say that Renton is Welsh's fictional counterpart. He flees his despair and drug addiction, in England, in the United States, and he ends up stopping drugs. In addition, Welsh plays the part of a dealer whose name is Mikey in the film. This novel was adapted, first, for theatre, in England (1994), in which we find Ewen Bremner (who plays the part of “Spud” in the film), and in France (1996). Then, it was put on screen by Danny Boyle in 1995. Trainspotting was a popular film, it's the second most successful film in Great Britain after Four Weddings and a Funeral. It received many rewards, among which The British Award granted to John Hodge for the screenplay.

Extraits

[...] We are expecting a second Trainspotting. It will also be adapted from a novel (Porno) recently written by Irvine Welsh. Welsh will take the same characters again, but ten years later. As for Boyle, he hopes to collaborate with the same cast again. Drugs are a social reality, and I think it is important to deal with this subject. However, most of the time, in films, the motivations of taking drugs aren't explained, and drugs “directions for are practically given here. [...]

[...] Moreover, the consequences of drugs consumption aren't clear. In that film, Boyle lets the audience to learn from this “experience” by themselves. For some years, the Anglo-Saxon Cinema has tackled social problems, as asylum seekers (Dirty Pretty Things), arm dealing (Bowling for Columbine, Lord of war), and medicine tested on African people (The constant gardener). [...]

[...] Each one of them smokes and drinks. In this film, we notice the easiness of take drugs (Tommy who begins to take drugs when his girlfriend leaves him), and the difficulty to get out of it, and it's also the case for alcohol and tobacco. To stop taking drugs, it is necessary to have an iron will, and it must be a personal decision. Indeed, when Renton is forced by his parents to stop taking drugs, it does not work, because he does not have the will, and without drugs, he says: “once pain goes away when the real battle starts. [...]

[...] Moreover, at some point, Welsh worked as an estate agent (like Renton). So, we can say that Renton is Welsh's fictional counterpart. He flees his despair and drug addiction, in England, in the United States, and he ends up stopping drugs. In addition, Welsh plays the part of a dealer whose name is Mikey in the film. This novel was adapted, first, for theatre, in England (1994), in which we find Ewen Bremner (who plays the part of in the film), and in France (1996). [...]

[...] We live in a pre-arranged society. Renton refuses, and he can not to some extent, to integrate into society. But, in this day and age, if you have not got a television, or a phone for example, or if you do not live like everyboby, you are marginalized. In the film, the goup of junkies are non conformist, and Renton is the symbol of this nonconformism. They choose self-destruction taking drugs. At the beginning, Renton chooses to take the easy way out against profond discontentment, social exclusion, and lack of money. [...]