# 153 Trainspotting (1996)

Trainspotting follows a group of heroin addicts from Scotland that go through the same things a drug addict would normally go through in his life: trying to quit, adjusting to sober lifestyle, going back on drugs, and doing everything possible trying to find money for drugs. At first I didn't like the movie because it was so gross. I mean, of course there is nothing pretty about drug abuse, but some scenes in this film were unnecessarily disgusting (like the one where Spud defecated all over his girl's bed).

I started realizing that the movie is in fact not that bad when they all decided to go back to using heroin. From that point I liked everything about the movie. It's not all depressing, unlike most drug-related movies, parts of it are very optimisitc, especially the ending that shows us that there's hope for everybody, but if you don't start a new life, you might end up like Tommy who died of toxoplasmosis after being tested HIV positive.

Towards the end Trainspotting turns into a crime story. Actually I think the whole movie is not as much about the harm of drugs, as it is about bad influence. No matter how much you're trying to change you life, if you're still surronded by the same people, you'll go back to doing whatever everybody else is doing. The main character even goes to London and starts a job as a real estate agent, but his mates come and stay at his place, steal from him and wreck his apartment. After that he goes back to the life of crime. All he needed to do was tell his friends to leave him alone! But he didn't do it. Why? Those people were his "mates".

The cast was amazing. I seriously think that it was Ewan McGregor's best role, I never really liked him, but this time he did an awesome job. The support cast is excellent too. We have a funny guy, a violent guy, a smart guy, and a tragic guy here. Pretty stereotypical, but it all looks very natural on the screen. Trainspotting is not for everyone, and I'm even surprised that I enjoyed it so much, but, unless you have a weak stomach, it's worth checking out.

Favorite quote: "I chose not to choose life. I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"

Interesting fact: Various options were considered to make the film more intelligible for American audiences. Subtitles were ruled out as they would spoil the effect of using them in the disco scene. Instead, the actors re-recorded the first 20 minutes of dialog, softening their accents to atune American ears to the Scottish dialect.