Trainspotting (1996)
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A group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh navigate their shared addiction and the consequences of their lifestyle.
The story
The film follows a group of heroin addicts in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh, led by a mentally ill and violent psychopathic narcissist who allows their life of crime, and their passage through life. Mark Renton, a 26-year-old unemployed heroin addict, lives with his parents and spends his time with a circle of friends, including the bumbling Spud and the volatile Franco Begbie. As Renton grows weary of his reckless lifestyle, he attempts to wean himself off drugs, leading to a series of complications as he tries to navigate the boundaries between his addiction and a potential life of sobriety.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Mark Renton, a 26-year-old heroin addict in Edinburgh, lives with his parents and associates with a group of friends: the bumbling Spud, the fanatical Sick Boy, and the violent, psychopathic Franco Begbie. While his friend Tommy tries to stay clean to become a professional footballer, Renton attempts to quit heroin using opium. After a brief period of sobriety leads to a brief romance with a girl named Diane, Renton relapses. Following a series of events including the death of Sick Boy's daughter and a stint in a rehab program where he nearly dies, Renton is forced into a 'cold turkey' period by his parents. He eventually moves to London to work as a property agent, where he briefly finds success until Begbie and Sick Boy reappear, leading to his dismissal. The group eventually returns to Edinburgh and later travels to London to conduct a large-scale heroin deal. After a tense standoff in a pub where they successfully secure the money, Renton steals the cash and abandges the others, choosing a life of sobriety. In a post-credit scene, Spud finds a portion of the money left for him.
- First release year
- 1996
- Runtime (minutes)
- 93
- Production countries
- United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English; Scots
- Directors
- Danny Boyle
- Writers
- John Hodge · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Ewan McGregor · Mark "Rent Boy" Renton; Ewen Bremner · Daniel "Spud" Murphy; Jonny Lee Miller · Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson; Robert Carlyle · Francis "Franco" Begbie; Kevin McKidd · Thomas "Tommy" Mackenzie; Kelly Macdonald · Diane Coulston
- Genres
- black comedy; drama
- Themes
- drug addiction; urban poverty; squalor
- Tone and mood
- black comedy; hallucinatory; breathless
- Premise and plot tags
- drug addiction; urban poverty; Scottish
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh
- Reception
- The film was released to critical acclaim and is regarded by many critics as one of the best films of the 1990s. It has been recognized as an important film during the 1990s British cultural tour de force known as Cool Britannia.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 93% · scale: percentage · review count: 174; Metacritic · score: 83 · scale: 100 · review count: 28
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Space Needle · Best Film · 1996 · win; Best Actor · BAFTA Scotland Awards · 1996 · win
- Production trivia
- The faeces in the 'Worst Toilet in Scotland' scene was made from chocolate.; The film was shot in Glasgow, despite being set in Edinburgh.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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