Trainspotting

Trainspotting (1996) shows its audience a glimpse into what life is like with a drug addiction. Ewan McGregor’s character, Mark Renton, brings forth an honest portrayal of a drug addict struggling to escape his addiction in order start a new life of sobriety.

As I was watching the film, I was just honestly thankful that the movie came with subtitles. I had difficulty understanding the dialogue because of how thick their Scottish accents had been, but I enjoyed watching it nonetheless.

I quite liked the story and how it showed the effects of addiction not only on the person himself, but also on the people around him. It deals with problems realistically rather than in an idealistic manner. We see this when the film touched up on the topic of withdrawal because that is something that is definitely not easy to accomplish.

It seemed like the film was aiming for its audience to feel disturbed by some of the scenes. From the very start, when a heroin-deprived Renton accidentally defecates his opium suppositories and dives into the worst toilet in Scotland to retrieve it, I remember everyone in the room shrieking in disgust (with me included). I also recall watching from the gaps between my fingers as I covered my face in fear when Renton was undergoing withdrawal in his room and hallucinated the dead baby Dawn crawling towards him from the ceiling. It saddened me knowing that the guilt and fear he experienced in that scene is something that could very well be true to life for some undergoing withdrawal.

Aside from Renton, I also felt bad for some of the other characters like Tommy who, at the beginning of the film, had a good, clean, healthy lifestyle which quickly spiraled into addiction and ultimately resulted in his death. It shows just how dangerous developing a drug addiction is and it is unfortunate that someone like him met such an unfortunate demise because of the circumstances in his life.

I like how the film continues to push for Renton’s sobriety despite many relapses. Like his “friends” who somehow find their way back into his life, Renton’s addiction presents itself as a true disease which comes back at full force each time.

Frustration is something I felt all throughout the film. This mostly applies to Renton’s friend, Begbie, who’s chaotic nature always started trouble. As someone who was rooting for Renton, I found myself frustrated with how his attempts to escape his addiction were always pushed back by Begbie (and even Sick Boy). I found it even more annyoing when he continued to correspond with Diane, who manipulated him to begin with, even after he moved away from their town.

I was just glad that, at the end, Renton was able to cut all ties with the negative influences he left behind and begin a (hopefully better) life. I also felt touched when he chose to give Spud his share of the money since it gives us a sense of hope for him. We end the film with a certain optimism for change as he leaves, no longer connected to his past and on the road to sobriety.

In the end, I have still yet to decide whether this film was enjoyable for me or not. In terms of whether it is worthy of recommendation, I would most likely only recommend it to selected people who would appreciate the film as it is. It does, however, show promise in helping a person understand the effects of drug addiction, something that most people still need to figure out these days.