Trainspotting PosTerS

Trainspotting is a 1996 Academy Award-nominated, BAFTA-winning cult classic film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Trainspotting is about a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh and their passage through life. Trainspotting stars Ewan McGregor as Mark Renton, Ewen Bremner as Spud, Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy, Kevin McKidd as Tommy, Robert Carlyle as Begbie and Kelly Macdonald as Dianne. Trainspotting Author Irvine Welsh also has a brief appearance as hapless drug dealer Mikey Forrester.

Trainspotting was adapted from Welsh's novel by John Hodge. Trainspotting does not contain any references to the non-drug-related hobby of train spotting. Trainspotting is a reference to an episode in the original book (not included in the film) where Begbie and Renton meet "an auld drunkard" in the disused Leith Central railway station, which they are visiting to use as a toilet. He asks them, in a weak attempt at a joke, if they are "trainspottin'". As they walk away, Renton realizes the drunk was Begbie's father . It should also be noted however that the act of Trainspotting is UK slang for trying to find a vein to intravenously inject drugs.

Set in Edinburgh, Trainspotting begins with a narration from Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) as he and his friend Spud flee the police, wanted for shoplifting. Renton states that unlike people who "choose life" (a traditional family lifestyle with children and material possessions), he and his cronies have opted out of ambitious pursuits, preferring to live in a heroin-induced fog. We are introduced to his friends: Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Spud (Ewen Bremner), Tommy (Kevin McKidd) and Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Sick Boy, obsessed with Sean Connery, is also a heroin addict, as is the goofy, innocent Spud. In contrast, Tommy and Begbie openly criticise heroin use. Tommy lives an athletic, drug-free lifestyle. Begbie does not believe in heroin, but he is (ironically) a vicious drunk, eager to pick fights for the mere thrill of instigating physical altercations. This point is clearly illustrated when Begbie is seen casually throwing his pint glass off a bar balcony, injuring a woman and causing a large-scale pub brawl.

Sick Boy and Renton decide to quit heroin, but struggle with temptation. They join Tommy, Begbie and Spud in a dance club where all five men are in pursuit of sex. The other three men have more complicated nights. After complaining about his relationship problems to his mates, Tommy takes Lizzie home for sex. Their desire to make love while watching a porno video of themselves is unsuccessful because Renton stole their tape earlier in the film, replacing it with a greatest football goals video. Tommy believes he returned it to the video rental store accidentally - a point of contention with Lizzie that later leads to the relationship's end. Spud drinks too much, as he's in a temporary abstinent relationship with his girlfriend, Gail. That night when Gail tries to have sex, Spud passes out and defecates on her bed. Renton flirts with a young girl named Dianne, who quickly dissects his bad chat-up lines, but takes him home anyway. After the two have sex, Renton is forced to sleep on a couch outside her bedroom and discovers the next morning that he is actually at her parents' house and that she is under the age of sexual consent. He tries to end their relationship, but she blackmails him into staying in contact lest she call the police and inform them of their one-night stand.

With their quest to be sober not as thrilling as hoped, Sick Boy, Spud and Renton decide to get back on heroin. The film shows a montage of drug taking and dirty dealings, while Renton narrates that he and his mates tried all drugs available to them. Tommy is dumped by Lizzie and looks for solace in heroin like his mates, having been told it's "the ultimate hit... Better than sex." Renton's life of stealing and drugs continues, but quickly takes many turns for the worse - beginning with the screaming of Allison at their flat. The group discovers Allison's baby daughter, Dawn, has died. The cause of death, implicitly, is neglect while they were all present: an infant's distorted wails play over the preceding drug montage. All are shocked and feel terrible - Sick Boy, the father, most of all. A short time later, Renton and Spud are caught stealing from a department store (in a reprise of the opening scene of the film). Spud goes to jail but Renton avoids incarceration by voluntarily enlisting in a drug treatment programme where he is supplied with the opiate substitute methadone.

Even though his journey to sobriety begins with much love from his parents and mates (such as Sick Boy and Begbie), within hours Renton is back at the flat of his dealer - named "Mother Superior" for "the length of his habit" - and orders more heroin. Renton overdoses on the heroin and is dragged carelessly by "Mother Superior" and a taxi driver to the hospital, where nurses save his life. Seeing no other option, Renton's parents lock him in his own room to beat the addiction cold turkey. He has several hallucinations, including Spud in jail, a now drug addicted (and possibly HIV infected) Tommy, and Dawn, Allison's dead baby, crawling toward him on the ceiling, framed by a bizarre TV gameshow in which host Dale Winton asks, "Is he guilty... or not guilty?"

Finally clean of heroin, Renton feels no purpose in life and decides to move to London and start a job as a property letting agent. Renton continues his sobriety while enjoying the vibrancy of London and saving up money on the side. His happiness is again short-lived, however, as Begbie arrives at his London flat seeking a hiding place from the police for armed robbery. Sick Boy suddenly shows up and decides to live with them as well - and once again, Renton is frustrated that he cannot turn these "mates" away. As things are boiling over in the small space, the three are told of Tommy's death from toxoplasmosis back in Scotland. They return home and meet Spud, who is now out of jail and also sober.

Following Tommy's funeral, Sick Boy suggests a large and dangerous opportunity for them; the chance to buy two kilos of heroin for �4000 and sell it for up to �20,000. Begbie demands that Renton put up much of the money, having seen Renton's bank statements. Though he has bad feelings about the deal, Renton agrees. The foursome meet a big-time heroin dealer and end up selling the heroin for �16,000 - leading to a rare afternoon of celebration between all four mates. Mere hours after the deal is finished, Begbie draws a knife on an unarmed man in a pub and beats him severely while accidentally slicing Spud's hand open as well. Renton decides, as Begbie stands over the beaten man and demands a cigarette to come down from his "high", that he is going to steal the money from his mates, whom he slowly realizes are not really his mates at all, with the exception of Spud.

That night, Renton pulls the bag of money away from a sleeping Begbie before he leaves. Taking the money and his passport, he leaves and vows to starts a new life: the life he described at the beginning of the film. While trying to leave with the money, Spud catches Renton in the act, but does not wake the others. When Begbie awakes, he is furious and begins to destroy the room, attracting the attention of the police and finally being arrested. Sick Boy goes home empty-handed. Spud, however, finds �2000 in a locker intentionally left for him by Renton so that he too can make a fresh start.