Trainspotting Analysis

Trainspotting Analysis

Opening

The first minute of Trainspotting jumps straight into the action showing the main characters running through the streets of Edinburgh. The camera is shaky and the characters run towards it whilst it runs away. The scene is accompanied by 1970s rock music. The first character we see is the main one: Renton. When we see him he is portrayed to be young, reckless and carefree. He is hit by a car and looks directly into the camera looking eye to eye with the audience. The audience is meant to feel uneasy as Renton just laughs maniacally. There is a freeze-frame of his face accompanied by his name as if this is summing up his character .

The opening of Trainspotting subtley introduces all 5 main characters' personalities through a game of football. The way that each character plays the game shows what kind of person they are. For example, Begbie is a plays dirty fouling the opposition showing that he is the cruelest in the group. Like Renton, all the character's names pop up on a freeze-frame of their faces. In the background, as well as the music, Renton is narrating saying "Choose life" and a load of other things that have connotations to domestic living. However by the end of the opening we see Renton lying on his back smoking, alone in the middle of his empty flat suggesting that he has not chosen any of these options. 

Middle

By the middle of Trainspotting Renton has been forced to give up drugs and suffers withdrawal symptoms. There are multiple close-up shots both of Renton's face and on the hallucinations that he is having. The scene has many callbacks to previous parts of the film such as Diane singing to him in her school uniform, Spud in a prison uniform and the baby on the ceiling.These are all elements in Renton's psyche that he feels guilty about. 

Throughout the scene there is heavy bass playing, possibly to recreate a throbbing in his head. 

Ending

After Renton tries to put his life behind him, his friends turn up again and convince him to do one lat score with them. On the train going to London, the director slightly repeats the idea of showing each character's personality traits by having them do the same thing- looking into a mirror- but each in a different, unique way. The fact that these four characters are trying to pull off a heist-like situation is played for comedic effect. They are clearly not comfortable in their new environment and this is seen through the way that they do not fit into the frame properly. We also see the differences in the characters by their different plans on spending the money

Early in the morning, as the others sleep, Renton takes the money. Spud sees Renton leave, but remains silent. Renton repeats his early statements about choosing life to live a stable, traditional life and leaves Spud £4,000. One of the main themes of this film is friendship and seeing Renton's bold choice to leave his friends behind gives the impression that his character has matured throughout the narrative. 

In the last scene with Renton walking on the bridge, there is a silhouette of London's skyline possibly to convey the binary opposite of London vs Edinburgh as his attitudes to life are different in the two cities. There is 90s dance music in the background possibly to show the future (as the film was released in 1996). The last shot has Renton walking toward the camera with a smile on his face drifting out of focus. This could show that he is drifting out of existence- as he is leaving his old life behind to start anew.