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Trainspotting

post #1 of 22
4/9/08 at 10:45am
Thread Starter 
Choose life. Choose a fucking television.

The film that made Ewan MacGregor a star. It's a fine line that this film treads, the motivations for drug use and it's effects on the individual. It neither glorifies it or presents shallow drugs are bad statements. Begbie has his own brand of narcotic which is violence and despite all the attempts by Renton and his family to get him clean he always wanders back to junkie land and to his "friends"

This is the type of film where voiceover actually works, as Renton guides the audience through his world, the dead baby on the ceiling is absolutely vivid as is jailbait Kelly MacDonald. The brilliance of this film is the balance of humor and social realism. Spud waking up in bed realizing he's shat himself but not recognizing where he is, the almost comical pub brawl and Begbie's attack on a man in the pub towards the end.

The movie retains a grim atmosphere, that's occasionally vibrant.
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post #2 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:00pm
Really like this film. I don't think Boyle has bettered it.

I think it's interesting that they make the 'villian' of the piece, Begbie, the only one of the main characters who doesn't touch drugs.


Also, was this subtitled for the American release? I'm sure I remember reading that somewhere...
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post #3 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:04pm
Jonny Lee Miller's finest 2 hours.
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post #4 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:09pm
One scene in the club has subtitles, where they are discussing the Iggy Pop concert.

Trainspotting is one of my absolute favorite movies. I don't think Begbie is the villain at all. Sure, he's not a nice guy, but the villain changes. For Spud and Rent it's dope, for Sick Boy it's the thought of being like everyone else, for Begbie it's the fear of not being top man in the room. Each one of these things "attacks" the characters and puts them in the situations they encounter. Different paths, same course.

Kelly MacDonald is smoking hot in her role, and watching her in No Country, shows that she has some chops. I'm a bit worried to hear that she seems to coast through Choke.

If anyone has not read the sequel, Porno, I recommend it. That movie needs to get made, as it is just as great a story as Trainspotting. Also, Glue features characters from Trainspotting as well, and are just as entertaining in their small appearances there as in the film/book.
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post #5 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyG View Post
One scene in the club has subtitles, where they are discussing the Iggy Pop concert.

Trainspotting is one of my absolute favorite movies. I don't think Begbie is the villain at all. Sure, he's not a nice guy, but the villain changes. For Spud and Rent it's dope, for Sick Boy it's the thought of being like everyone else, for Begbie it's the fear of not being top man in the room. Each one of these things "attacks" the characters and puts them in the situations they encounter. Different paths, same course.

Kelly MacDonald is smoking hot in her role, and watching her in No Country, shows that she has some chops. I'm a bit worried to hear that she seems to coast through Choke.

If anyone has not read the sequel, Porno, I recommend it. That movie needs to get made, as it is just as great a story as Trainspotting. Also, Glue features characters from Trainspotting as well, and are just as entertaining in their small appearances there as in the film/book.

Yeah villian was the wrong word to use. I just think he is a really horrible twat, he reminds me a bit of Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast.

(That bit is subtitled in the British version as well)
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post #6 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyG View Post
If anyone has not read the sequel, Porno, I recommend it. That movie needs to get made, as it is just as great a story as Trainspotting.
Yeah, I'd absolutely love to see this get made. It's a great continuation of the characters' stories.
Quote:
Also, Glue features characters from Trainspotting as well, and are just as entertaining in their small appearances there as in the film/book.
In my humble opinion, it's the appearance of the Trainspotting crew that makes "Glue" worthwhile. Definitely my least favorite Welsh novel, although I haven't picked up either "If You Liked School..." or "The Bedroom Secrets of Master Chefs" yet.
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post #7 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:24pm
I'd seriously consider seeing this if I wasn't so skittish about seeing needles being used on film.
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post #8 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:38pm
I'd watch it again if I wasn't so skittish about Johnny Lee Miller being used in film.
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post #9 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Cordo View Post
I'd watch it again if I wasn't so skittish about Johnny Lee Miller being used in film.
What?!? You have to like Miller as Sickboy. I'm pretty sure it's a law or something.
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post #10 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:54pm
Sick Boy and Begbie steal the show. Everyone talks about Rent, but Sick Boy runs away with it, and Begbie tries hard to steal it back from him.

And don't let the drug use make you skittish to watch it again. It's not nearly the graphic portrayal other films use (especially something like Requiem). I am an absolute puss when it comes to needles, but Trainspotting doesn't make me wince.

And I really like Glue a lot, but I have not read any other Welsh novels yet except the three.
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post #11 of 22
4/9/08 at 12:57pm
So in terms of needle use, are we saying on the level of Permenant Midnight or less than that?
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post #12 of 22
4/9/08 at 1:08pm
I think you see actual skin breaking 3 times, max. If that many. You'll see plenty of tie offs though.
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post #13 of 22
4/9/08 at 1:43pm
Tie offs meaning the turnicate being tied around the arm and such? I admit, I'm not completly hip on smack lingo.
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post #14 of 22
4/9/08 at 2:05pm
I think Begbie is there so the film doesn't come off as judgmental about the other characters' drug use making them bad people. Begbie is the worst criminal and worst all around person out of all of them and doesn't use drugs and is in fact very judgmental about their lifestyle. I agree this is a great film, one of my all time favorites.
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post #15 of 22
4/9/08 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EdHocken View Post
Tie offs meaning the turnicate being tied around the arm and such? I admit, I'm not completly hip on smack lingo.
That is correct. I think you should head down to Sunset and do some research for the film before hand Ed.
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post #16 of 22
4/9/08 at 4:08pm
I'm quite fond of the not fondly remembered "A Life Less Ordinary", and "The Beach", "Millions" and "28 Days Later" are all solid efforts (haven't seen "Sunshine" yet) but I think Boyle pretty much peaked here.

I don't believe that modern classic is too grandiose a term for it, and for subject matter so potentially disturbing and depressing, 'Trainspotting' has an abundance of life in it, it's practically bursting with it.

For all of the sturm und drang in something like Requiem For A Dream (which is saved from being a latter day 'Reefer Madness' by Aronofsky's intelligence and artistry), 'Trainspotting' has the confidence in and respect for its audience to not persistently essay the bleak abysm of addiction; it trusts us to get the point, and see the humor in it all.
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post #17 of 22
4/9/08 at 4:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JacknifeJohnny View Post
I'm quite fond of the not fondly remembered "A Life Less Ordinary", and "The Beach", "Millions" and "28 Days Later" are all solid efforts (haven't seen "Sunshine" yet) but I think Boyle pretty much peaked here.
Good to see at least one other person who likes A Life Less Ordinary besides me. I think it probably could've been better, but it's extremely entertaining as is. The Beach also could've been better and I might've liked it a lot more had I not been such a fan of the book. Millions is the only Boyle movie I've never seen. But I love the guy, one of my favorite directors. I even dug Sunshine.
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post #18 of 22
4/9/08 at 4:46pm
Not to get off topic, but you need to see Millions. It seems to play a lot on premium cable, and I always make a point to catch it.
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post #19 of 22
4/9/08 at 5:23pm
Yeah, Millions is about as far from Trainspotting as one could get, but it's a great. It's one of the few "great for kids and adults" movies that actually deserves the description.
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post #20 of 22
4/11/08 at 11:09am
Thread Starter 
This film is also full of great music, the soundtrack is unreal. The thumping 'Lust for Life' 'Born Slippy' I wouldn't really put Boyle in the same league as Scorsese or Mann as far as using music goes but he did a fantastic job nailing the tone with the music.

I think the only innocent in the film is Spud, the rest connive and fuck each other over. Tommy's road to ruin and eventual death is only caused because of his innate trust in his friends, Renton takes advantage of that trust. It's a pretty sad and indicting moment.
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post #21 of 22
5/9/10 at 12:38pm
Footsteps, Iggy Pop, Ewan McGregor, into voiceover- what a fucking start.

Rewatched this yesterday in it's entirety having for the first time in a long time, and it's as fresh, vibrant and brilliant as I remembered. There's the bravura stuff from Boyle like the detox scene and the overdose, and at it's heart it's not just a depiction of addiction but of hopelessness and disengagement, and is a movie angry and the apathy and piss-poor government of the 80's and 90's that left a country full of holes and problems- problems that are 'simplified' by addiction.

Was surprised to note that the film is less than 90 minutes- it's so efficiently told and paced, without stiffing the viewer on content or character, McGregor, Bremner, Miller, Carlyle and McDonald are stellar, and depsict the deteriorating friendships and increasing mistrust with aplomb. Even the friendships in the beginning of the film seem to have come from apathy- 'what can you do, he's a mate'- and Renton has to snap himself out of inaction before he can even really start to change.

Oh, and fuck you if Spud finding the money at the end doesn't put a smile on your face.
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post #22 of 22
5/9/10 at 1:41pm
Agree with many things in this thread: Kelly MacDonald is smokin' in this movie, A Life Less Ordinary is fun (the ending is just wacko though -- claymation what??), and that Trainspotting is Boyle's best film (I think the only one of his I haven't seen is the TV one, Vacuuming Naked in Paradise).

Requiem is always regarded as the harder film, and it is both great and relentlessly depressing, but I think I find Tommy's truly horrific fate to be as wrenching as anything happening to the characters in Requiem. There really isn't a thing about it that seems in any way just or deserved; it's just plain awful to hear about.

In the pantheon of modern drug films, if Requiem is at the top and Trainspotting is a close second (or vice versa), Spun is a fun third place.
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