[tag]Trainspotting[/tag] is a 1996 film directed by [tag]Danny Boyle[/tag] based on the novel Trainspotting by [tag]Irvine Welsh[/tag]. The movie is about a group of heroin addicts in [tag]Edinburgh[/tag] and their passage through life. It stars [tag]Ewan McGregor[/tag] (as Mark Renton), [tag]Ewen Bremner[/tag] (as Spud Murphy), [tag]Jonny Lee Miller[/tag] (as Sick Boy), [tag]Kevin McKidd[/tag] (as Tommy), [tag]Robert Carlyle[/tag] (as Begbie) and [tag]Kelly Macdonald[/tag] (as Diane). Author Irvine Welsh also has a brief appearance as drug dealer Mikey Forrester.
The title is a reference to an episode in the original book where Begbie and Renton encounter Begbie's destitute father in the disused Leith Central railway station. He asks them (in a weak attempt at a joke) if they are "trainspotting".
Its release sparked controversy in some countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and United States, as to whether it promoted drug use or not. U.S. Senator [tag]Bob Dole[/tag] decried its moral depravity and glorification of drug use during the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign, although he admitted that he had not actually seen the film.
Boyle has stated his wish to make a sequel to Trainspotting which will take place 10 years after the original film, based on Irvine Welsh's sequel, Porno. He is reportedly waiting until the original actors themselves age visibly enough to portray the same characters, ravaged by time; Boyle joked that the natural vanity of actors would make it a long wait.
This is definitely a film that represents our age. It's a film that should be shown to your teenage kids to help ensure they won't try the crap they shouldn't. It very bleakly illustrates the whole crash and burn death that drugs like crack, meth, and heroin could only lead toward.
The acting is fabulous. The script is well made and so is the cinematography and F/X. This is an excellent film no matter who you are and what walk in life you lead.
To read more reviews and purchase the DVD, click on the image to go to Amazon. BE ADVISED: the director's cut does not contain the opening monologue that was in the American release; as shown in the poster below.
