One of Boyle's best films (Trainspotting (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Trainspotting (DVD)
Date:	19/09/09 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Performances and gritty tone

Disadvantages: Disturbing

note: also appears in part on Flixster and The Student Room

Danny Boyle shot to fame with two hot hits in a very short time - Shallow Grave in 1994, and one of his best films in 1996, Trainspotting, a harrowing, darkly funny look at drug addiction with some insanely good performances, chiefly from Ewan McGregor in the lead role. It's this kind of filmmaking that allowed Boyle to hone his craft and finally ascend to Oscar glory with his latest film, Slumdog Millionaire.

The film opens as we meet a bunch of lads in Edinburgh, led by Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor). His friends are Spud (Ewen Bremner), a socially inept syocphant, Sick Boy (Johnny Lee Miller), a smooth operator, Tommy (Kevin McKidd), a footballer, and perhaps the most famous of all - Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle), a violent and crazed psychopath. All but the latter two have abandoned what is conventionally referred to as careers, and decided to spend their lives in Heroin-induced stupors. Tommy and Begbie, though, openly despise Heroin, and therefore it's hard to accuse the film of romanticising drug use too much, as it does have both sides of the argument covered.

Whilst it depicts them as sympathetic characters, it is in fact mostly critical of their behaviour, showing the troubles of going through withdrawal, and just quite how disturbed their hallucinations become is rather terrifying, most notably as Renton believes that he sees a baby crawling along his ceiling, whose head then spins around. The film does have some hope for redemption, though, as he meets Diane (Kelly Macdonald), a cheeky and clever girl who has her fair share of secrets, but may be the secret to Renton keeping level-headed.

Whilst perhaps a bit overrated, this is a gritty, raw British film about drugs. The opening scene is by now iconic, and if you can stomach the disturbing and trippy scenes, this is one to watch. McGregor is fantastic in this.

Summary: Uncomfortable but brilliant