A wild freeform Rabelaisian trip through the darkest recesses of Edinburgh low-life focusing on Mark Renton and his attempt to give up his heroin habit and how the latter affects his relationship with family and friends Sean Connery wannabe Sick Boy dimbulb Spud psycho Begbie 14-year-old girlfriend Diane and clean-cut athlete Tommy whos never touched drugs but cant help being curious about them...
Review
In the aftermath of Pulp Fiction much of the filmmaking of the 1990s thrived upon attempts to appear "edgy" within the constructs of independent films or merely to provide empty shock value cliches. And no film ever came close to the sheer cleverness of Tarantinos masterpiece.
Trainspotting however somehow manages to take the excesses of the mid90s and rise far far above the cinematic cliches that it easily could have become. A film that tackles any hotbutton social issue can and usually does simply become a didactic propaganda piece. Thankfully Trainspotting is vastly more intelligent in its edginess and its shock.
In order to appreciate Trainspotting fully the viewer must abandon any preconceptions about what defines truly great cinema because this film defies convention at nearly every turn. And with the rapid pace of its plot thats quite a bit of ground to cover.
Though a great deal of the pictures brilliance is derived from director Danny Boyles consistent rejection of typical cinematic techniques the most satisfying and best aspect of Trainspotting is that Boyle creates a film that is neither prodrug or antidrug. Instead he maintains a rare objectivity throughout the film depicting this fascinating array of complex beautifully acted characters with an honesty that it seldom captured on film. And given the life that each character lives its nearly incomprehensible that a director would refrain from influencing the viewers impressions in any way yet thats exactly what Boyle does.
The dialogue or at least what portions of the broguedrenched dialogue American viewers will be able to comprehend is alternately hilarious raw and brutal. And Ewan McGregor Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle bring a remarkable compassion and depth to their portrayals of characters that could have easily lapsed into cliche.
Despite its sheer brilliance Trainspotting is not a film thats easy to watch. The viewer is bombarded with images that transcend visceral discomfort in their horror this movie contains two of the most graphic horrifying scenes Ive ever encountered. But amazingly none of these elements is used merely for shock value. Though the viewer will be mortified by some of the things that happen onscreen the welldocumented dive into Scotlands most vile public toilet for example these scenes all make perfect sense within the context of a masterfully told story.
In order to notice all of the subtlety that also exists in Trainspotting repeat viewings are necessary primarily to reduce some of the most powerful shocks eversoslightly though their effects are never lost entirely. Some of the images will likely haunt even the most cynical jaded viewer for weeks.
RATING 10 out of 10. Never patronizing and completely unpretentious Trainspotting is one of the most daring unconventional films ever made. It inspires a level of discomfort rivaled by very few movies because even at its most graphic Boyle never insults the viewer with mere shock tactics. Brilliantly acted directed and written with a truly rare objectivity that allows each viewer to interpret its story on hisher own terms.