Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting is a piece of British cinema that accomplishes more than being an iconic cult classic. Based on Irvine Welsh’s novel of the same name, the movie perfectly represents the cycle of addiction from its euphoric highs to its rock-bottom lows while underscoring the severity of addiction as a mental disorder.
The film follows 26-year-old Mark Renton, an unemployed Scot from Leith, Edinburgh, who begins by revealing that instead of choosing life and its beautiful elements, he chose heroin. In his leisure, Mark is either committing petty crimes, drinking at the pub, or shooting up. The latter is the habit he wants to break, because in actuality, Mark does want to choose life.
Trainspotting captures each part of addiction with a gritty uniqueness captured by absurd cinematography and practical effects. While it’s marketed as a comedic drama, most of the plot shouldn’t be funny when you examine it through the lens of brutal reality.
Drug use is glorified in the movie, gaining ample controversy. I’m against drugs, but I agree with this framing choice. Trainspotting shows the devastation of addiction while being fair and showing how addicts feel when getting their fix. Every time Mark shoots up, he slips into a nirvana-like state of relaxation. Whether his syringes were previously used is irrelevant; the chemicals inside are all that matter.
Trainspotting mostly shows addiction’s negatives by showcasing its profound effects on other people. Mark’s friend Allison abuses heroin so much that her infant daughter dies due to her neglect. The scene is horrifyingly realistic, reminding you that punishing yourself equally punishes others.
One early scene reflects an addict’s efforts to satisfy their desire, which can prove dangerous. Mark unfortunately gets forced to use a dilapidated bathroom when he has diarrhea, only to accidentally defecate his opiate suppositories into the toilet. He digs for them without hesitation, eventually climbing all the way into the toilet and swimming in an oceanic trench.
This hyperbolic and surreal scene pulls no punches in showing the potentially uncouth, unfiltered nature of an addict’s conquest and associated desperation. In reality, Mark obviously didn’t nosedive into a toilet for his drugs, but this scene shows that he would be willing to do just about anything to get his fix, including diving into his own feces.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s withdrawal. Mark’s parents try a dangerous “cold turkey” method to help him overcome his addiction via isolation after he nearly dies from an overdose.
Many common symptoms of withdrawal are present: his anxiety, making him toss and turn in bed; his hallucinations of his friends in compromising positions, as well as Allison’s dead baby; and his inability to eat normally due to tremors. It’s highly uncomfortable to watch because it is a highly uncomfortable situation to be in.
Overcoming addiction is no cakewalk. This notion is further shown by Mark’s worst mistake: promising he’ll quit “after one last hit.” Mark relapses three times during Trainspotting’s 93-minute runtime. Judging from his slightly skeletal appearance, this promise inferably has been made and broken more often than that.
However, the difficulty of overcoming addiction doesn’t make it impossible. Even after moving to London, Mark’s old friends follow him. He not only relapses again, but he also falls back into crime. Finally taking the hint, Mark slips out during nighttime with his group’s drug money to start a new life.
The message is clear: separate yourself from bad influences. This instruction applies to everyone, not just addicts. Never feel pressured to engage in anything potentially dangerous to avoid the cycle all together. Mark hated giving up on his friends, but if that’s what it took, it was necessary.
Trainspotting’s structure and message delivery allows the film to become more than just an average movie. This is a realistic portrayal of addiction from start to finish by placing you in Mark’s shoes through the bizarreness of someone suffering from it, but the film’s satisfying ending reinforces that anyone can overcome addiction. Like Mark said in the first minutes of the movie: “Choose life.”