Trainspotting is bookended by the same frenzied and bleak rap, informing us that our middle class lives are as void of meaning as that of the most desperate heroin addict. We all choose our fix, whether it’s materialism or the smack high that’s one thousand times greater than the best orgasm. Not that Trainspotting glorifies heroin addiction. Anyone who says so didn’t pay attention. This is probably the most honest movie ever made about drug addiction.
Director Boyle first shows us the allure of heroin. Since it is virtually impossible to do that cinematically (remember all those hilarious sixties movies that failed miserably in this quest?), Boyle relies on words and metaphors. Certainly there is no substitute for being there, but Boyle's approach works as well as could be expected. Then we get to see, not once, but twice, the central character, played charismatically by Ewan McGregor, try to go clean in scenes that are as revolting as they are unforgettable. To understand the power of heroin, ask yourself why anyone who has gone through the horror of cold turkey would ever go back to it. And then try to get off it again.
The film is inhabited by unforgettable characters whose hollow and desperate existence leads them down some of life's darker alleyways. They flail about in situations that are alternatingly disgusting, horrifying and hilarious. Just try to forget the "Worst Toilet in Scotland" scene.
"Trainspotting", the British hobby of tracking locomotive engine numbers is used as a metaphor, not only for heroin addiction, but also for life's general meaninglessness. Trainspotting has a grim heart of darkness at its core, offering little hope of redemption. Ironically, it is also crackling with electricity, crammed full of the bleakest of Scottish humour and imbued with such a dazzling and dizzying visual style that it's essential misery may easily elude the viewer.
