The cult British film “Trainspotting” has turned 25. Released on 23 February 1996, the movie was an adaptation of controversial Irvine Welsh’s novel for the big screen. The movie reunited the director Danny Boyle, the writers Irvine Welsh and John Hodge, producer Andrew Macdonald and actors Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, for this punchy, grim look at the Edinburgh drug scene that definitely marked the 90s generation.
The plot follows the misadventures of Mark “Rent Boy” Renton (Ewan McGregor), a heroin drug addict who lives in a rough area in Edinburgh, Scotland, surrounded by his unusual mates: casual dealer Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner), a life’s loser and Begbie (Robert Carlyle), a violent psycho who picks fights with anyone and everyone. Renton tries to get out of his problems, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of his friends.
The struggles against drug addiction, social issues and Edinburgh economic depression in Scotland in the 1980s are some of the reflections explored in the plot by the main character.
Boyle used a clever cinematic imagination to bring these losers onto the screen, from the show-stopping opening moment as Renton runs down the street, to his classic quote “Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance…”
Drug abuse wasn’t depicted as a glamorous thing in the movie considering its peculiar and horrible scenes such as when Renton has a hallucination diving into probably the most disgusting toilet in Scotland in an attempt to retrieve lost narcotics, and the unforgettable images of a dead baby that hunt him when he is trying to detox.
“Trainspotting” is highly regarded as one of the most iconic British films of the 1990s. It features some of the country’s most startling young talent: Carlyle, McGregor, writer Hodge and director Boyle.
