Trainspotting: 1996

Director: Danny Boyle
Release Date: July 19, 1996
Producer: Andrew MacDonald

Who here likes Danny Boyle? I know I do. With such renowned movies under his belt, like "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 hours", you have to appreciate his filmmaking ability.

"Trainspotting" tells the story of Edinburgh scum Mark Renton. Renton is a avid heroin user who lives a trashy life. Everything he does is for the dope. Through a course of events Mark begins to come off of junk, but like coming clean from any serious addiction, it's easier said than done.

Okay, so let's break this down. For a movie about the struggles of heroin addiction "Trainspotting" does a surprisingly good job of keeping its audience happy and not feeling like they want to slit their wrists. *cough* requiem for a dream *cough* Even if the character interactions are not as realistic as some people may prefer, Boyle is able to achieve a semi-realistic, yet comically balanced scene.

As the film progresses, you get a firm sense of the time that has elapsed since its beginning. If I were to call "Trainspotting" a "coming of age" story, many people would probably go into it expecting the wrong thing. It is however, in its most basic definition, a coming of age story: boy is troubled, boy comes clean, boy struggles, boy comes clean. Is that any different from the intended messages of "Stand by Me?" People love being retold the story of the screw up kid who is finally able to come through and beat his original faults, it makes us feel good. (and it usually makes for a helluva movie)

The more technical viewer may note that the film exhibits an awesome array of cinematography. Brian Tufano, the man in charge of the camera was able to achieve a wide variety of shots. Small, enclosed scenes show the darkness that is heroin addiction, while wide angle landscape shots illustrate the feeling of cleanness experienced by a junkie who has just overcome heroin. 

"Trainspotting" has definitely secured a spot in my top 25 movies list and I hope to see more of Danny Boyle's films in the near future. I also look forward to the newly announced 2016 release of "Trainspotting 2: Revenge of Renton." Okay it's not actually called that, but Danny Boyle has actually announced that there will be a "Trainspotting" sequel. Some might be skeptical of the sequel's quality, but I'll stay optimistic until a trailer is released. 

9.1/10

Watch the Trailer!

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