Trainspotting is a 1996 British independent black comedy drama film directed by Danny Boyle, with Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle and Kelly Macdonald in her film debut. It is written in English and Scots. Based on the 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh and inspired by the stage production of the same name, the film was released in the United Kingdom on 23 February 1996.
The film follows a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh, led by a mentally ill and violent psychopathic narcissist who allows their life of crime, and their passage through life. Themes in the film are drug addiction, and urban poverty and squalor in Edinburgh.
Trainspotting was released to critical acclaim, and is regarded by many critics as one of the best films of the 1990s. The film was ranked tenth by the British Film Institute (BFI) in its list of Top 100 British films of the 20th century. In 2004, the film was voted the best Scottish film of all time in a general public poll. A 2017 poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out magazine ranked it the tenth best British film ever. A sequel, T2 Trainspotting, was released in January 2017 and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing through its TriStar Pictures label.
Plot
Mark Renton, a 26-year-old unemployed heroin addict living with his parents in Leith, regularly takes drugs with his friends: treacherous, womanising James Bond fanatic Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson, and docile and bumbling Daniel "Spud" Murphy. Renton's other friends include aggressive alcoholic psychopath Francis "Franco" Begbie, who serves as the de facto leader of the group, and honest footballer Thomas "Tommy" Mackenzie, who both abstain from heroin use, warning him about his dangerous drug habit, whilst hoping to become a professional footballer.
Tiring of his reckless lifestyle, Renton attempts to wean himself off heroin with a bare room, food, and opium suppositories from dodgy dealer Mikey Forrester. Developing diarrhoea, he has to relieve himself in the disgusting toilet of a betting shop, then imagines swimming in the filthy water as he retrieves the suppositories.
On a night out, Renton notices that his cessation of heroin use has increased his libido. He seduces Diane Coulston, returning to her home to have sex. The following morning, he is horrified to learn that she is underage and lives with her parents, whom Renton mistakes for her flatmates. Diane threatens to report him to the police if he does not continue the relationship.
After several unsuccessful attempts to reintegrate into society, Renton, Sick Boy, and Spud relapse into heroin use; Tommy also begins to join them after Lizzy dumps him due to their sex tape disappearing (which Renton had stolen). Despite the group's shock at the negligence-induced death of Dawn, the infant daughter of Sick Boy and fellow heroin user Allison, they still do not quit using. When Renton, Sick Boy, and Spud engage in shoplifting, Renton and Spud are caught while Sick Boy narrowly escapes.
While Spud receives a short custodial sentence, Renton avoids jail by entering a drug rehabilitation programme where he is given methadone to help him, but quickly relapses and nearly dies of a heroin overdose. Returning home, Renton is locked in his childhood bedroom by his parents and forced to go cold turkey. Following severe withdrawal punctuated by hallucinations of his friends, his parents on a game show answering questions related to HIV and visions of Dawn crawling on the ceiling, Renton is released upon the condition of an HIV test. Despite years of sharing syringes with other addicts, he tests negative. However, Renton learns that Tommy, who is now severely addicted to heroin, has tested HIV-positive.
On Diane's advice, Renton moves to London and works as a property letting agent. He begins to enjoy his new life of sobriety in London and corresponds with Diane, who updates him on home developments. Renton's attempt at a fresh start in London is soon hindered as both Begbie, wanted for a failed armed robbery, and Sick Boy, now trying to be a pimp and drug dealer, re-enter his life. Renton attempts to hide them in a property that has yet to be let but sees them assault prospective tenants, causing Renton to be fired. The trio returns to Edinburgh to avoid police attention, where they attend the funeral of Tommy, who has died of AIDS-complicated toxoplasmosis.
Following the funeral, Sick Boy asks Renton, Begbie, and Spud (recently released from prison) for help in buying two kilograms of pure heroin from Mikey Forrester, for £4,000, to sell on, with Renton needing to supply £2,000 of the asking price. He reluctantly agrees after Begbie threatens him. The four return to London to sell the heroin to a dealer for £16,000. As they celebrate in a pub, Renton suggests to Sick Boy and Spud that they take the money and cut out Begbie, who subsequently beats another patron after an accident. While Sick Boy is receptive, Spud refuses. The next morning, Renton quietly steals the bag of money and attempts to leave, noticing that Spud observes this but chooses to not warn the others. Begbie, discovering Renton and the money gone, destroys their hotel room in a blind rage; the police are called and arrest him. Renton leaves the group behind, promising himself that he will live a happier, cleaner lifestyle.
In a post-credit scene, Spud finds £4,000 left for him by Renton, and leaves to begin a new life.
Cast
Ewan McGregor as Mark "Rent Boy" Renton Ewen Bremner as Daniel "Spud" Murphy Jonny Lee Miller as Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson Robert Carlyle as Francis "Franco" Begbie Kevin McKidd as Thomas "Tommy" Mackenzie Kelly Macdonald as Diane Coulston Peter Mullan as Swanney "Mother Superior" Fiona Bell as Mrs Coulson Vincent Friell as Mr Coulson Pauline Lynch as Lizzy Susan Vidler as Allison Eileen Nicholas as Mrs Renton James Cosmo as Davie Renton Shirley Henderson as Gail Houston Stuart McQuarrie as Gav Temperley/American Tourist Irvine Welsh as Mikey Forrester Kevin Allen as Andreas Keith Allen as Hugo the Dealer, reprising his role from Shallow Grave (1994) Dale Winton as Game Show Host Lauren and Devon Lamb as Baby Dawn Williamson (uncredited) Calton Athletic Football Club
Style and themes Music has great importance in Danny Boyle's films, as evident by the best-selling soundtracks for Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, both of which feature many pop and punk rock artists. In Boyle's view, songs can be "amazing things to use because they obviously bring a lot of baggage with them. They may have painful associations, and so they inter-breathe with the material you're using".Danny Boyle: Brits "Brilliant With Music" But "Rubbish at Film" , by Paul Hechinger, Published by BBC America, 2013.
The combination of images and music with the setting of the criminal underworld has drawn comparisons to Pulp Fiction and the films of Quentin Tarantino, that had created a certain type of "90s indie cinema" which "strove to dazzle the viewer with self-conscious cleverness and empty shock tactics". This affected the shooting style of the film, which features "wildly imaginative" and "downright hallucinatory" visual imagery, achieved through a mix of "a handheld, hurtling camera", jump cuts, zoom shots, freeze frames and wide angles. This vigorous style contributed to the "breathless" pace that Boyle's films have been associated with.
For the look of the film, Boyle was influenced by the colours of Francis Bacon's paintings, which represented "a sort of in-between land—part reality, part fantasy". The scene where Renton (McGregor) dives into a toilet is a reference to Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow.
Production Development Producer Andrew Macdonald read Irvine Welsh's book on a plane in December 1993, and felt that it could be made into a film. He brought it to the attention of director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge in February 1994. Boyle was excited by its potential to be the "most energetic film you've ever seen—about something that ultimately ends up in purgatory or worse". Hodge read it and made it his goal to "produce a screenplay which would seem to have a beginning, a middle and an end, would last 90 minutes and would convey at least some of the spirit and the content of the book". Boyle convinced Welsh to let them option the rights to his book by writing him a letter stating that Hodge and Macdonald were "the two most important Scotsmen since Kenny Dalglish and Alex Ferguson". Welsh remembered that originally the people wanting to option his book "wanted to make a po-faced piece of social realism like Christiane F or The Basketball Diaries". He was impressed that Boyle, Hodge and Macdonald wanted everyone to see the film and "not just the arthouse audience". In October 1994, Hodge, Boyle and Macdonald spent a lot of time discussing which chapters of the book would and would not translate into film. Hodge finished the first draft by December. Macdonald secured financing from Channel 4, a British television station known for funding independent films.
Casting Pre-production began in April 1995. Ewan McGregor was cast after impressing Boyle and Macdonald with his work on their previous film, Shallow Grave. According to Boyle, for the role of Renton, they wanted the quality of Michael Caine's character Alfie Elkins in Alfie and Malcolm McDowell's character Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, "repulsive ... with charm 'that makes you feel deeply ambiguous about what he's doing'." McGregor shaved his head and lost 2 stone (12.7 kilograms/28 lbs) for the film. Ewen Bremner had played Renton in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting and agreed to play the role of Spud, saying he felt the characters "were part of my heritage". Boyle had heard about Jonny Lee Miller playing an American in the film Hackers and was impressed when he auditioned by doing a Sean Connery accent.Grundy, Gareth (February 1998). "Hey! Hey! We're the Junkies!" Neon. p. 103. For the role of Begbie, Boyle considered casting Christopher Eccleston for his resemblance to how he imagined the character in the novel, but asked Robert Carlyle instead. Carlyle was initially hesitant, believing he was too short to play the character, but Boyle convinced him by telling him, "No, small psychos are better." Carlyle said, "I've met loads of Begbies in my time. Wander round Glasgow on Saturday night and you've a good chance of running into Begbie." For the role of Diane, Boyle wanted an unknown actress so audiences would not realise that a 19-year-old was playing a 15-year-old. The filmmakers sent flyers to nightclubs and boutiques and approached people on the street, eventually hiring Kelly Macdonald. The casting of Keith Allen as the Dealer was a reference to his role in Shallow Grave with the implication being that he plays the same character in both.
Pre-production McGregor read books about crack and heroin to prepare for the role. He also went to Glasgow and met people from the Calton Athletic Recovery Group, an organisation of recovering heroin addicts, who play the opposing football team in the opening credits. He was taught how to cook up heroin with a spoon using glucose powder. McGregor considered injecting heroin to better understand the character, but eventually decided against it. Many of the book's stories and characters were dropped to create a cohesive script of adequate length. Danny Boyle had his actors prepare by making them watch older films about rebellious youths like The Hustler and A Clockwork Orange.
Principal photography