Trainspotting
Renton feels like the 1990s descendant of Alex from “A Clockwork Orange”- a vivid portrait of 20-something malaise and disaffected youth. As played by Ewan McGregor, he is an engaging, but often morally bankrupt anti-hero. Normally, it’s the type of collision between actor and character that we think back on, and wonder whatever happened to the person who played that role. A few years later, though McGregor would go on to train Darth Vader as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the “Star Wars” prequels, and he would gain an entirely new fan base. Watching his Renton again, I was reminded not only how great he was in Danny Boyle’s 1996 dark comedy, but also how excited I was that he was cast in the iconic role of a Jedi Knight a few years later. If only the prequels had given him room to bring some of the same energy he brought to Renton to Obi-Wan.
“Trainspotting” is one of those films which invite you to empathize with people who make terrible choices. That’s not the same thing as inviting you to approve of the choices, and I think that’s a distinction that some people lose when discussing films like “Trainspotting” or “GoodFellas” or “Boogie Nights.” By bringing us into the worlds of Renton and Sick Boy and Spud, which includes rampant drug use, Boyle, screenwriter John Hodge and producer Andrew Macdonald, in adapting Irvine Welsh’s novel, want us to look at the struggles life lived around the poverty line in Scotland presents, and how it’s never as easy as just going cold turkey when it comes to kicking an addiction, especially when society doesn’t offer the resources to do so. Doing that in a film as entertaining as this, it’s easy to see why puritanical voices can get up in arms.
The 1990s was the best time imaginable for film soundtracks. Not necessarily scores, but the use of existing, or writing original, songs for films. I forgot just how fantastic the soundtrack for “Trainspotting” worked with the images brought to life by Boyle and cinematographer Brian Tufano. Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, New Order, Brian Eno and Primal Scream may seem like strange bedfellows, but each one works its way into the energy of the film. The story begins with Renton, Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Spud (Ewen Bremner) fleeing the cops after some shoplifting. The energy of that opening, with Renton letting us into his worldview in the narration, and Boyle then cutting to this group’s life, is constant throughout the movie, even in moments between characters. The music is a crucial part of how the film puts us in the feeling of these guys on a high, and sometimes, when they have to crash back to reality. I’m glad I happened to find the soundtrack at 2nd and Charles when I was there selling some DVDs so I could revisit it, and add it to the collection because it’s hard to find intact on streaming.
Renton is our guide through this story, and his arc has as many highs and lows as you would expect, whether he’s going through withdrawal in his childhood bedroom, getting involved in a relationship with an underage high school student (Kelly Macdonald), or hanging out and getting high with Spud and Sick Boy. His narration takes us through his emotional journey, and seeing how he recognizes the benefits of sobriety, while also rejecting it at times, shows just how complicated that line can be to manage if the latter is all you know. He eventually moves to London to sell property, but when his past comes back to haunt him (namely, Begbie (Robert Carlyle) finding him and hiding out at his flat), that cannot last, and he’s back where his journey started.
If I’m focusing most on Renton, it’s because his story is what left the strongest reaction this time. (His descent into the most disgusting toilet in Scotland for two suppositories he lost is next level cringe but also brilliantly visualized.) There are moments with Spud (with Bremner in peak scene-stealing form) that are iconic, like his blown interview and his unfortunate accident in his girlfriend’s best. Sick Boy’s Bond fixation is a very funny character trait. And Carlyle is such a delightful live-wire; it’s wild to remember that the next year he’d be a down-on-his-luck dad stripping for money in “The Full Monty.” There’s also Kevin McKidd as Tommy, whose life is a struggle even before his girlfriend dumps him because of something Renton does.
Actions have consequences, but also, “Trainspotting” shows us how sometimes, what’s needed is to break away from those whom are closest to us. The final moments of the film show how, for Renton, that’s the only choice to make. Otherwise, he could end up in the same place again, and again, and again. I haven’t seen the sequel yet, but the final scenes of “Trainspotting” shows him choosing wisely, and for now, that’s good enough for me.
