Well, mmmmmm, I'm Irish, student, 18, 5' 2.5", redhead. That's about it really.....Oh and i've ...
Well, mmmmmm, I'm Irish, student, 18, 5' 2.5", redhead. That's about it really.....Oh and i've a dog and 2 cats but i only see them at weekends cos I live away!
Member since:28.07.2004
Reviews:15
This was a phrase that was used by one of Mark Renton's (Ewan McGregor) friends when he first began on his experimentations and eventual descent into addiction with heroin.
I had this image that "Trainspotting" was a weird film and when one of the scenes named, "the worst toilet in Scotland" involves Mark diving the whole way into the toilet and swimming to the bottom to find two repositories, I realised I was not far wrong.
As a daughter of an accountant and principal of a Youthreach centre, heroin is not something I have grown up with. Even while working in the nightclub or even in the bar wich I am at now in a rough side of town and going out with a lad renowned for shady deals, heroin is something of which I have no clue therefore when watching the film, you must understand I took everything at face value. From the way in which he cheated during his methadone progamme leading to an eventual overdose, to the way Tommy, (friend) lost his girlfriend because of both his addiction and a sex tape.
Robert Carlyse is a player in this movie and although one would imagine he would outshine this young cast, as he plays the psychopathic Francis who would beat up and start a row with a table of it only had the ability to fight with him, he actually doesn't outshine most of the others. He does play well but not much more than the rest.
Seb Boy is the Blondie who wants to be a big-time drug dealer but in my opinion didn't have a hope, Carlyse did far outshine his performance at the risk of sounding harsh. The final lead was taken in by a simpleton known simply as Spud and when Mark abandons the others at the end, it is only Spud he feels for. "Ok, I felt bad for Spud, Spud never hurt anybody", the actor who played this part did so well and deserved recogntion for his performance.
As regards memorable scenes, there are 2 for me, well 3 but the third one is purely due to the camerawork and music. The first is the awful moment when we first discover that Alison's baby has suffered Cot Death, to see a baby made up like that is harder to watch than anything else in any other film I have seen in recent times but perhaps even harder is the fact that she cooks up a hit before doing anything else. Another rather disturbing scene is where Mark is coming clean. As anybody will tell you, be they recovering alcoholic or drug addict, a major part of recovery is hallucination. In his recovery scenes, he sees his parents with Dale Winton, Tommy looking like shit basically but worst of all, he sees the baby crawling along the wall which may only be described as horrific. Finally there is his overdose scene which is accompanied by the background music of Perfect Day by Lou Reed and the camerawork involves him appearing to be in an open coffin, creepy and strange but effective nonetheless.
As I wastched the film, I realised that I was certainly not conned out of my €2.50 for 2 nights in the DVD store and upon my 2nd look the next day, the details I missed became apparent. I do not know if a third look will occur but certainly the first 2 were worth it if for educational purposes alone.
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Production Year: 2003 - Drama - Director: Michael Winterbottom - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The film that effectively launched the star careers of Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and ... more
Jonny Lee Miller is a hard, barbed picaresque, culled from the bestseller by Irvine Welsh and thrown down against the heroin hinterlands of Edinburgh. Directed wit...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family... This is the story of Mark ... more
Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his so-called friends - a bunch of losers liars psychos thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing the film charts the disintegra...
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Advantages: Sublime and raw, a potently must-see eye-opener for the public. Disadvantages: Blotches of the disgusting capability of human anatomy - lots of faeces and the likes.
ikeaholic 11.07.2004 (11.07.2004)
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Review of Trainspotting (DVD)