TRAINSPOTTING

If you wrote out a bare bones plot summary of this film it might sound as though it is a sad tale of heroin addicts, in which inevitably there are a couple of fatalities, one of a baby.

So the fact that it's often very funny and in a weird way uplifting is testament to the screenplay (an adaptation by John Hodge of the novel by Irvine Welsh) and to how Danny Boyle manages to bring it to life in surprising and surreal ways which had stuck in my memory even if I struggled to recall much about the story.

Although it could be said to be an ensemble piece, none of the characters had stayed with me other than the narrator, Renton, and Begbie, the one guy who doesn't take drugs but who has severe anger management issues.  

Renton is played in uncompromising fashion by Ewan MacGregor.  He's not an actor I naturally warm to but there's no doubt that his energy is a key element in the film's success.  I appreciated that the film doesn't try to make Renton especially likeable, or that it doesn't try to downplay how destructive drug addiction is, the humour notwithstanding. 

Begbie is played by Robert Carlyle and he followed this up the next year with his BAFTA winning performance the following year in 'The Full Monty', and it's a bit disappointing that his career since has been rather underwhelming.  

Making her film debut as Renton's underage girlfriend is Kelly Macdonald, who makes the most of the few scenes she is in.

Even though there's not much of a story arc and the ending is somewhat inconclusive, it's a memorable and entertaining picture, and I am intrigued to now see the sequel.