Trainspotting Details

There was no doubt after Shallow Grave that the arrival of director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald and doctor-turned-writer John Hodge on the British film scene was a major cause for celebration. However, it was the trio's follow-up — this devastatingly comic and tragic look at youth culture and its recreational habits — that put them firmly on the international map. Unapologetic and hard-hitting, Irvine Welsh's controversial bestseller is brought to the screen as a dazzling assault on the senses. Fiercely original and provocative, this shocker focuses on the disintegrating friendship of four Edinburgh lads as they embark on an endless drugs and petty-crime bender. In a true masterstroke, the harrowing and bleak subject matter is presented as a hilariously funny walk on the wild side, with no moral stance taken or punches pulled. Ewan McGregor is absolutely brilliant as smart-aleck junkie Renton, and Robert Carlyle gives a stunning performance as the violent Begbie. This is a savagely sophisticated work and a landmark British classic.

A dark and ironic take on young junkies at their antisocial worst, directed with terrific energy and style, a witty subversion of the usual documentary approach to such subjects, and excellently acted by its ensemble cast.