Thursday 3 October 2013
Saturday 28 September 2013
Induction Task
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a
career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, Choose washing
machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin can openers. Choose
good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance. Choose fixed-interest
mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure
wear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a
range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on a
Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing
spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose
rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home,
nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have
spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life . . . But why
would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life: I chose
something else…
Written by John Hodge, based on the written novel by
Irvine Welsh. Directed by Danny Boyle. However, Whilst we have seen in the past
few days that Boyle has perfectly captured all that is great about Britain-he
is arguably better known for his depiction of the darker sides of life.
The needle goes in. The floorboards open. And Mark
Renton (Ewan McGregor), the epitome of heroin-chic hero of ‘Trainspotting’,
drifts into the druggy oblivion that this film depicts with such dead-on
symbolism and accuracy of the all-consuming impact of drugs- all to the theme
tune of the sullen track, ‘Perfect Day’. He disappears into the carpet and
drifts for sometime before waking in a hospital- as Mother Superior had so
helpfully put him into a cab- gasping for breath and emerging from the depths
of the his carpet-coffin.
Danny successfully tackles Britain ,
or more specifically Scotland
Whilst the film features gruesome scenes, for example,
the cot death and the infamous ‘worst toilet inScotland’ toilet debacle, Boyle
somehow manages to paint a romantic rose-tinted perspective over the true harsh
realities of drug addiction, which makes it entirely watchable.
Renton, Sickboy, Spud, Begbie and co. are loveable
lowlifes. The audience wants to watch these men who still manage to be slick
and compelling whilst battling heroin’s tyrannical rule over the human body.
but as Renton
This is perhaps why Boyle’s success and genius is
often applauded and awarded. Although he often broaches difficult subjects [Slumdog Millionaire, 127 hours, Shallow Grave]
he finds beauty in the grotesque and reveals the drive of the human spirit to
push and find the light at the end of the tunnel, or in this case, the dirty
needle, through mesmerising protagonists played by superbly cast actors.
Relatable misery for all to enjoy with the comfort of
a pretty cool soundtrack- sounds like the perfect recipe for a truly British
film. The film is totally nineties – it lacks in dialogue but this is
outweighed by Boyle’s wide angle shots and clever imagery- cue McGregor
climbing in and out of a toilet, Renton’s crazy trip when going cold turkey and
the graphic depiction of injecting ‘just
one more hit’.
Danny Boyle’s adaptation of ‘Trainspotting’ led the
film to be critically acclaimed as one of the best British films of all time.
It had an immediate impact on popular culture and is still recognised as a
cultural point of reference in terms of Britpop and ‘Cool Britannia’
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