Trainspotting a Clever Take on the 'Wasted Youth' Phenomenon

Scotland Offers Backdrop for High-energy Look into a Drug User's Life

Janine Phan

It's not everyday you get to see a grown man climb out of a toilet. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), an Edinburgh heroin addict with a barrage of addiction-prone friends will be the man to bring you this visual. In the Danny Boyle film also starring Jonny Lee Miller (among other young faces) you are invited to witness detoxification, laughter, death and desperation. Among the many indecencies-gallivanting with a high school girl, ruining a girlfriend's parent's sheets or death of poisonous cat feces-comes a bit of advice. As Renton describes how one is supposed to go the "normal" route, i.e. career and a starter home, he tells us that he's found something better. But it seems he isn't so sure. The smart dialogue proves that witty banter can make even the 'scum of the Earth' seem hopeful. A useful disclaimer for this movie might warn the faint of heart. But as Renton would say, why would you want to do a thing like that?

Published by Janine Phan

I need to sharpen my pencils and my writing skills  View profile

To comment, please sign in to your Yahoo! account, or sign up for a new account.