Trainspotting

 2.5/4

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Johnny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Macdonald, Kevin McKidd

Rated R for Graphic Heroin Use and Related Depravity, Strong Language, Sex, Nudity and Some Violence

They say that when an addict gets sober, what they miss isn't so much the drug itself but the camaraderie of being around people who understand the lengths you're willing to go to get high because they have the same impulses you do.  I'm not sure Mark Renton would agree with that, though.  Certainly he loves heroin more than his friends.  At one point he muses, "Take the best orgasm you've ever had...multiply it by a thousand, and you're still nowhere near it."  Would a relatively smart guy like Renton hang around with the gallery of misfits and psychos he calls his mates if not for the influence of heroin?  Doubtful, but then again addiction can drive even the most gold-hearted men to do unconscionable things.

Renton (McGregor) rationalizes his addiction to heroin as a way to avoid the dregs of normality.  His opening monologue makes it clear that he despises the idea of being just another boring nobody.  "Choose life.  Choose a job.  Choose a career."  On and on he goes until he rejects it.  "But why would I want to do a thing like that?  I chose not to choose life.  I chose somethin' else.  And the reasons?  There are no reasons.  Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"  I get being in a state of arrested development, but this goes too far in my opinion.  Not that Renton likes being addicted.  Diving into the worst toilet in Scotland for bags of heroin isn't his idea of a good time.  But the lure of heroin is too strong.  He can't stand the boredom of normality and his mates are hard to get rid of.

Ever since its release in 1996, "Trainspotting" has been something of a cult classic.  That doesn't surprise me.  This is the kind of movie where you get it or you don't, and as every fanboy can tell you, "getting it" is a source of pride no matter what "it" is.  Director Danny Boyle films this story with a lot of energy and the kind of directorial flair that you can only find with eager and unpolished filmmakers.  And I mean that as a compliment.

The problem is that in order for this to work, you have to identify with the characters.  I didn't.  Renton, the innocent Spud (Bremner), the Sean Connery obsessed weirdo Sick Boy (Miller) and the violent psycho Begbie (Carlyle) are not meant to be likable people.  But are they interesting?  For me, no.  I found nothing about them that I could understand or identify with.  I had to see real people there, and I didn't.  Take for example the young Diane (Macdonald), the lone woman with any screen time.  What was her purpose in this film?  To sleep with Renton then blackmail him?  Not enough is done with her for the character to justify an appearance in this story (that being said, this was Kelly Macdonald's screen debut, and considering that it launched her career, I suppose the trade-off is worth it in the end).  No one else is developed much more than that.  Sure they say their lines and we know a few things about them, but not enough to form an opinion of them.

Certainly the actors do all they can.  Ewan Bremner is in top form as Renton, who isn't so drug-addled that he can't see his bad decisions and problems with a certain amount of objectivity.  His observations are insightful and occasionally amusing.  Johnny Lee Miller doesn't have a lot to do other than be a oddball, but he is sexy and charismatic.  Ewen Bremner has no problem playing the geek.  And Robert Carlyle is always at his best when he can let loose and go over-the-top (anyone remember "Ravenous" or "The World is Not Enough"?).

Often times, Danny Boyle's energy and style overtake his characters and story.  This is as true of this as it is of his other films like "Shallow Grave" and the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire."  Style and technique are important, to be sure.  But they should serve the story, not call attention to themselves.  It would be untrue and unfair to say that Boyle is showing off, but there are times when his style makes it difficult to get involved in the story and the characters.  It encourages distance, and that's not a good place for a film to be.

"Trainspotting" is not a bad film.  But unless you "get it," you're probably going to be like me and wonder what all the fuss was about.

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