(Danny Boyle, UK 1996, 93 min., DCP)
Based on Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel of the same name, Trainspotting follows a group of heroin addict friends in late 1980s Edinburgh. Dissatisfied with the way drug addiction has taken over his life, Mark "Rent Boy" Renton (Ewan McGregor), attempts to “Choose Life” and get clean. Unemployed and poverty-stricken, this group of friends stoop to incredibly dark and disturbing lows. The film is a portrait of Gen X nihilism and losing oneself in the seedy thralls of addiction.
Danny Boyle’s fast-paced directing is a visual trip, using time lapses, wide-angle lenses, dolly zooms, and hallucinatory surrealist sequences to put viewers in the shoes of an addict. Matched with an iconic soundtrack of Brian Eno, 90s brit pop, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop (both heroin addicts themselves), the film serves as a generation-defining cult classic. Trainspotting begs the question: Is losing oneself to drug addiction the only rational response to the absurdity of modern life?
Presented in a brand-new 30th anniversary 4K restoration.
Introduction by and post-screening discussion with Selznick student Jacqueline Grimson.
Upcoming Events in this Series
Film Screenings | The Face Behind the Mask (DCP)
Lose Yourself Peter Lorre stars in this cult noir as a Hungarian who takes the slow boat to Manhattan in search of a better life, only to almost immediately have his face horribly disfigured in a tenement fire.