Trainspotting

Trainspotting is a 1996 Academy Award-nominated, BAFTA-winning cult classic film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. The movie is about a group of heroin addicts in late 1980s Edinburgh and their passage through life. It stars Ewan McGregor as Mark Renton, Ewen Bremner as Spud, Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy, Kevin McKidd as Tommy, Robert Carlyle as Begbie and Kelly Macdonald as Dianne. Author Irvine Welsh also has a brief appearance as hapless drug dealer Mikey Forrester.

The screenplay, by John Hodge, was adapted from Welsh's novel. It does not contain any references to the non-drug-related hobby of train spotting. The title is a reference to an episode in the original book (not included in the film) where Begbie and Renton meet "an auld drunkard" in the disused Leith Central railway station, which they are visiting to use as a toilet. He asks them, in a weak attempt at a joke, if they are "trainspottin'". As they walk away, Renton realizes the drunk was Begbie's father.

Plot

Set in Edinburgh, the film begins with a narration from Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) as he and friend 'Spud' career down Princes Street after shoplifting to raise cash, with security guards in pursuit. Renton states that unlike people who "choose life" (a traditional family lifestyle with children and material possessions), he and his cronies have opted out of ambitious pursuits, preferring to live in a blissful, meaningless heroin-induced stupor. We are introduced to his friends: film buff Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), hanger-on Spud (Ewen Bremner), keen footballer Tommy (Kevin McKidd) and unpredictable thug Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Sick Boy, obsessed with Sean Connery, is also a heroin addict, as is the goofy, innocent Spud. In contrast, Tommy and Begbie openly criticise heroin use. Tommy lives an athletic, drug-free lifestyle. Begbie does not believe in heroin, but he is (ironically) a vicious drunk, eager to pick fights for the mere thrill of instigating physical altercations. This point is clearly illustrated when Begbie is seen casually throwing his pint glass off a bar balcony, injuring a woman and causing a large-scale pub brawl.

Source: Wikipedia

Continue reading the plot and the reaction to the film by clicking on the main title ("Trainspotting") above.

I think it is a great film partly because all the characters are frighteningly realistic.

I recommend you watch it if you haven't already. And if you have, watch it again in English (with subtitles).

But I warn you that it isn't for the over-sensitive of you!

Which film do you consider great? Write a brief description of the plot and why you like it so much.

This is one of the tracks from Trainspotting.

The original version is by Lou Reed and is the one featured in the film.

This version is sung by a variety of artists (including Lou Reed) to raise money for charity.