Trainspotting 4K: Scotland's '80s Dark Age is Heather-Free and Grimily Brilliant
By John Kirk
Rating: A
You might have heard that Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting (1996) has been restored in glorious 4k, released in theatres with the restoration supervised by Boyle himself.
You might ask why, other than the occasion of its 30th anniversary? After all, Scotland in the late ‘80s - the period when the movie takes place - was feeling the sting of Thatcher austerity. These were not good years for Caledonian youth. Why portray Scotland in this light?
As a loyal son of the thistled highlands, a firm believer in the recuperative powers of aqua vitae, and a devoted fan of Ewan McGregor (this was one of his first film performances and his first collaboration with Danny Boyle), this was a pivotal Scottish film for me. But it was also one for McGregor, thrusting him on to the world stage. But it also made for a more shocking view of Scotland to the world.
Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his ne’er do well mates in the newly 4K upgraded Trainspotting
It was a thoroughly harsh and frank appreciation of the land of the shining heather, in contrast to some of the then contemporary romantic Scottish films like Braveheart or Rob Roy (featuring an American-born Australian and an Irishman, ironically enough). It was a new and harsh look at the realities of Scottish life in this time.
Honesty is a Scottish virtue, but this was a brutal reveal.
It was a shocking rush of cold water that revealed the dark underbelly of youth culture in Edinburgh. Scotland wasn’t the land of mythical heroes or legends in this film; it was a place where petty crime, violence, and heroin reigned supreme, governing the lives of young people, adrift without direction, desperately trying to find a purpose.
We all know the story: Heroin addicted Mark Renton (McGregor) has a chance to get away from his friends. Spud (Ewen Bremner), a hopeless loser, Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), a soulless con-artist always out for a score, and Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle), a sadistic psychopath, all seek to drag him down and back into a miasma of criminal life. If he could just get away.
When he meets Diane (Kelly Macdonald), a schoolgirl wise beyond her youthful years, she gives him a sense of renewed purpose and he reinvents himself, breaking his heroin habit and finding an honest career in London. He leaves all of it behind, until they find him again. Renton has a chance for a big break but will he be able to betray them before they can betray him?
The 4k restoration release reminds us of not just a great story, but also of a chance to see these actors in their youth. It vibrantly renews their earliest performances but also shows us a pre-cell phones, pre-internet time when human interaction was stark and raw.
The sonic environment is lit with an electric soundtrack that mainlines itself directly into our brains. Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” combined with the music of Blur and Pulp creates a Britpop buzz. The pulsating track and the constant movement of the cast as they are either running, fighting, and hunting for sex or drugs gives the film a vibrant pace. The updated resolution brings the late ‘80s roaring into the 21st century.
This film is filled with great moments.
The first on my list: the greatest line ever uttered in a Scottish accent.
“What’s so great about being Scottish? It’s Shite!”
Ewan McGregor’s monologue remains the Stirling mark of high drama in this film. The greatest moment of self-realization in possibly any film ever made is when Renton looks at his friends and finally grasps that he can do a hell of a lot better than them.
The toilet scene.
Desperate for a hit, Renton reaches into the worst toilet in Scotland, hauling fistfuls of refuse and muck to retrieve his lost suppositories of heroin. The visual is visceral no-one can watch this without feeling a bit queasy.
Finally, the baby on the ceiling.
In the depths of withdrawal, Renton witnesses the abject horror of the spectral baby crawling on the ceiling towards him. While a simple effect, the digitized restoration of this particular scene manages to reach a new level of terror and instils both helplessness and fear.
All of this gets to be seen again, as if it’s the first time. If you’re a longtime Trainspotting fan (like me) from wayback, then the chance to see this again in full restoration can’t be missed. If you haven’t seen this film, then be prepared to see a Scotland that doesn’t hearken you back to the highlands but to the unflattering inside of a cigarette smoke-ridden pub, where Francis Begbie is spoiling for a fight.
Trainspotting 4K is in limited released in select theatres, including the TIFF Lightbox..