If ever there was a movie that captured the Zeitgiest of the
time in which it was made, it was Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting. An indie sensation when it was released in 1996, the
film was not simply a shot of much needed adrenaline for the British film
industry, but a spot on portrayal of the disenfranchised youth of the country,
a generation that had little hope thanks to a faltering economy. While its main characters were not indicative
of all late teens of that era, their search to escape their lives was not
uncommon. That they chose to do so
through a heroin haze only makes their situation more tragic.
Boyle knows full well that the follow-up to his cult classic
– T2 Trainspotting– couldn’t have the
same impact of its predecessor. Part of
the power of the first film was that it caught us unawares as to its raw power,
unbridled energy and cinematic inventiveness. Trying to catch lightening in a
bottle is a fool’s game, so the filmmaker approaches this long gestating sequel
with a sense of melancholy, and while he revisits many of the familiar haunts from
the first film, these stops are made with a sense of sadness, as our returning
to them only underscores the inherent nature of addiction and the manner in
which it traps those in its throes.
20 years has passed since Renton (Ewan McGregor) left his
mates high and dry, stealing a big payday they’d scored in a major heroin sale.
However, circumstances have arisen that lead him back to Edinburgh, where he
reconnects with his old mates in attempt to make amends. He finds that nothing much has changed where
they’re concerned. Simon (Johnny Lee
Miller) blackmails civic officials with the help of Veronika (Anjela
Nedyalkova), a woman with a dubious background; Spud (Ewan Bremner) has managed
to alienate his wife and son, still a slave to his heroin addiction; and Begbie
(Robert Carlyle) is rotting away in jail…that is until he makes a desperate,
foolhardy escape.
These three are all less than thrilled to see Renton, yet
once their initial anger subsides, he, Simon and Spud embark on a scheme to
garner government funds to revitalize a historic pub, convincing the powers
that be that this will be the first step towards bringing new life to the
area. That they actually want to use the
money to open up a brothel comes as no surprise.
The brand of black comedy that was so distinctive in the
first film remains here and provides many awkward, cringe-worthy laughs that
are in keeping with the ridiculous, self-destructive behavior of its principal
characters. We may laugh at their
outlandishness but Doyle and screenwriter John Hodge – adapting Irvine Welsh’s
novel Porno– never allows us to
forget the tragic underpinning of their actions. That they continue to visit
their old haunts, flaunt social norms and associate with one another serves to
underscore the restrictive nature of their addictive nature. Their sense of self-loathing will control
them until their dying days, their lives nothing more than a constant battle on
a treadmill to nowhere.
The four leads don’t miss a beat where picking up their
characters 20 years later is concerned.Â
Though we’ve seen McGregor, Miller, Carlyle and Bemner in other films,
these are the roles that remain in the viewer’s memory. All is as it was before with Renton, Simon,
Begbie and Spud, but the years of abuse is starting to take its toll with the
actors subtly conveying a sense of weariness that’s ultimately poignant.
That one of the quartet appears to have a way of building a
new life at the end of T2 Trainspotting, doesn’t feel like a cheap narrative twist, but rather a well-earned
deliverance. The circular nature used to
tie up all that started 20 years ago and the sense of hope it provides is
honest, much like this worthy follow up.
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2017.
