Trainspotting

1995 Drama

Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), a young man with few prospects and fewer ambitions, lives in economically depressed Edinburgh. Like most of his friends, Renton is a heroin addict who loves the drug's blissful nothingness; financing his habit also provides excitement and challenges that his life otherwise lacks. Renton's two best friends are also junkies: Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), a snappy dresser obsessed with James Bond, and Spud (Ewan Bremner), a guileless nerd who suggests Pee Wee Herman's debauched cousin. Renton and his pals also hang out with Begbie (Robert Carlyle), a borderline psychotic who loathes junkies even though he drinks like a fish. After one too many brushes with the law, Renton kicks heroin and moves to London, where he finds a job, a flat, and something close to peace of mind. However, Sick Boy, Begbie, and Spud all arrive at his doorstep on the trail of a big score, leading Renton back into drugs and crime. more..

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Ewan McGregor,Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle

Reviews

  • It would be hard to imagine a movie about drugs, depravity, and all-around bad behavior more electrifying than Trainspotting.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    20 January 2013

  • Heroin may be a downer, but Trainspotting definitely takes you up...a series of roaring, provocative, outrageous highs.

    Michael Wilmington - The Chicago Tribune

    20 January 2013

  • Exuberant and pitiless, profane yet eloquent, flush with the ability to create laughter out of unspeakable situations, Trainspotting is a drop-dead look at a dead-end lifestyle that has all the strength of its considerable contradictions.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    20 January 2013

  • A movie that rudely flings feces at the breakfast table isn't for everyone.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    20 January 2013

  • The stylish irreverence of Trainspotting mimics that drug high and delivers its own potent kick.

    Elvis Mitchell - The New York Times

    20 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

    Academy Awards (1997)

     
  • Best Screenplay - Adapted

    BAFTA Awards (1996)

  • Best Actor - Film

    BAFTA Awards, Scotland (1997)

  • Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke-amerikanske film)

    Bodil Awards (1997)

  • Best Film

    Boston Society of Film Critics Awards (1996)