TRAINSPOTTING
1996
Dave Chua
Also see Dominic Ow's review of TRAINSPOTTING
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Produced by: Channel Four Films (aka Film Four International) / Figment Films / PolyGram / The Noel Gay Motion Picture Company
Runtime: About 93 minutes
Cast: Ewan McGregor (Mark Renton), Ewen Bremner (Spud Murphy), Jonny Lee Miller (Sick Boy), Kevin McKidd (Tommy)
The novel "Trainspotting," while sloppy and a confused mess at times, deserved the attention and rave reviews it received. It was a sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious,
sometimes *both* account of the lives of some smack users in Edinburgh, and it succeeded despite various excesses by the author, Irvine Welsh. Its vignettish approach seemed to defy a translation to celluloid, but then the trio who put together the critically acclaimed (and by the time it got to our shores, very butchered) SHALLOW GRAVE decided to take it on. The good news is that it's a very watchable movie, the bad news is that it's actually quite different from the book.
The main difference is that the moviemakers have decided to focus on a central character -- Marc Renton -- while the book swapped characters around freely. The trio have decided not to risk the directionless meandering of its source and put in a more flowing narrative thread. But a subtler effect is how the movie has portrayed the heroin takers so much more sympathetically than the book, and the movie also has the hip aura of a music video/commercial.
Take for instance, the scene where Marc Renton is forced to detoxify at home. There's New Order playing in the background, and his bonking interest Diane steps in to chant a few lines just in case you don't get the reference. Or the scene where Marc dives into a urinal to rescue some drug suppositries he just farted into the sewers of the Worst Toilet in Scotland. For some reason, when he dives in, he goes into some paradise-like water setting remniscent of the Guiness Stout ads shown on local TV. Compared to the original scene in the book, where Marc was covered in shit, he might as well have been jumping into a pool of Evian.
And then of course, there's the great soundtrack. Iggy Pop, Pulp, New Order, Lou Reed are all over the movie, and there're enough cool visuals to keep the viewer watching (including a reference to the Beatles' Abbey Road which could only be planned but just makes no sense being where it is). The moviemakers, seeming to fear that they would make the movie too heavy, have went to adopt a hipper feel to it. ( Just count how many times people are going to quote the "Choose life" monologue at you between the time of this movie's release and Good Friday next year. )
Does it hurt the movie? Probably not, but it is a different movie than one would have envisioned from its source, rendering it many shades lighter. With the exception of Renton, the other characters are slimmed down. Spud the bumbling friend is played for straight comic relief, while Diane, the main female character, just has a few minutes on screen. Sick Boy is an amoral confused child and Begbie the psycho is just sweetly vicious.
Still the movie can be enjoyed on its own merits. Many of the scenes are inventive, and the movie's irreverence is a welcome change from oh-so-righteous the-BIG-theme (JUSTICE, FREEDOM, LIBERTY all parading in Capitals on the movie screen) American fare that has made film watching this year a very-stomach turning affair.
The movie has a strong visual style throughout, and the writing is snappy though you can't really make out what the characters are saying because of their thick Scottish accents. The movie keeps the book's total lack of sentimentality, such as when the mates decide to do some sightseeing in Scotland and Marc Renton goes into an extended monologue about how the Scots are the worst offal in the world who are colonized by "wankers." No 'Braveheart' style waxing lyrical about Ben Nevis here.
The performances are decent, with SHALLOW GRAVE alumni Ewan McGregor looking cluless but still pretty darn good, even when he's diving into a urinal. The others give decent but none too special performances, except for Robert Caryle as Francis Begbie, the argyle sweater wearing, psychotic, non-drug taking old-mate-who-hangs-around-you-but-really-want-to-get-rid-of who is truly excellent. Welsh gets a chance to star and push some drugs, but shouldn't give up his day job.
As to the question of whether TRAINSPOTTING glamourises drugs, the answer is no. But then it doesn't deflate them either. The world without drugs is dull and meaningless, the world with drugs is escapist and demented. The filmmakers have taken a strictly neutral stand, and heroin taking often just seems like a device to show some neat visuals or lay it over with a nice song.
It's hard to dislike TRAINSPOTTING the movie, but it has the lightness of a FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, and emerges as more hip than harrowing and lacks the essential honesty of the novel. The moviemakers have made sure that it's entertaining and its destiny as a cult favourite is assured. Watch the movie but read the book. They're almost two seperate entities.
The Flying Inkpot Rating System:
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
Dave Chua will stop looking out of his window at void decks probably after December.
Other film reviews by this writer can be obtained from the InkVault by doing a key word search with this writer's name.Other film reviews by other writers can also be obtained from the InkVault through key word searches.
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