Trainspotting

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9 / 10

1 Review

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Overview

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Media

Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Cast

Kelly Macdonald

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writer:

John Hodge, Irvine Welsh

Release Date:

1996-02-23

Run Time:

94m

Tagline:

Choose life.

Genres:

Keywords:

anti hero based on novel or book dark comedy drug addiction drug dealer drug dealing drug rehabilitation drugs edinburgh, scotland excited friendship hallucination junkie london, england nightclub scotland social realism stealing surrealism

Financials and Popularity

Budget: 4,000,000.00$

Revenue: 71,981,823.00$

Vote Average: 8.0/10

Vote Count: 10368 Votes

Movie Popularity: 8.1605

Spoken Languages: English

Review

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Insomniacs Reviews
- 22 April 2026 at 8:00 pm

9 Based on 1 Votes
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⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 9/10 THE SUMMARY Mark Renton is an unemployed heroin addict in Edinburgh who has decided to "choose not to choose life." Instead, he chooses smack, along with a group of "friends" that include a James Bond-obsessed dealer (Sick Boy), a bumbling sweetheart (Spud), and a terrifyingly violent alcoholic who doesn't even do drugs (Begbie). It’s a frantic, hallucinogenic journey through the highs of the needle and the absolute, septic-tank lows of withdrawal. It’s the ultimate movie about trying to kick a habit while your social circle acts like a bucket of crabs pulling you back into the filth. THE PROS Danny Boyle’s direction is like a shot of adrenaline—kinetic, colorful, and utterly fearless. Ewan McGregor’s Renton is the perfect unreliable narrator, blending a sharp intellect with a total lack of moral backbone. The soundtrack is a 9/10 on its own, cementing "Lust for Life" as the official anthem of running away from your problems. It manages to find a pitch-black humor in situations that should be purely tragic, making you laugh at things you’ll definitely feel guilty about later. Plus, the "Worst Toilet in Scotland" sequence is a masterclass in surrealist horror-comedy. THE CONS It is aggressively "90s indie," which might feel a bit dated to younger viewers. The thick Scottish accents are so dense that the first 20 minutes actually had to be re-dubbed for American audiences, and even then, you might want to keep the subtitles on standby. Some of the scenes—particularly involving a neglected baby—are genuinely traumatizing and skip right past "edgy" into "soul-crushing." It’s also unapologetically nihilistic; if you’re looking for a redemptive "just say no" message, you’re in the wrong zip code. THE VERDICT A "Guaranteed Banger" that defined a generation. It’s the cool, gritty older brother of the drug-movie genre that refuses to preach to you. It’s a 9/10 because it’s a visceral, high-speed ride that leaves you breathless, disgusted, and strangely energized. Just don't expect to ever look at a bowl of chocolate mousse the same way again. INSOMNIAC TRIVIA That infamous "poop" in the toilet scene? It was actually just chocolate mousse—Ewan McGregor reportedly found the scene quite "tasty" to film. Also, Oasis was asked to be on the soundtrack, but Noel Gallagher turned them down because he thought the movie was literally about people who watch trains at stations. Another fun one: Robert Carlyle played Begbie as a "closeted gay man," using his repressed sexuality as the engine for all that terrifying, random violence. THE VIBE Like a dirty, neon-lit nightclub at 4 AM where the music is too loud, the floor is sticky, and you’re pretty sure you just lost your wallet—but you’re having the time of your life.

Videos

Iggy Pop - Lust For Life

Cast

Kelly Macdonald

Jonny Lee Miller

Eileen Nicholas

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Trainspotting Collection

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Trainspotting

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Insomniacs Reviews
- 22 April 2026 at 9:00 PM

⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 9/10
THE SUMMARY
Mark Renton is an unemployed heroin addict in Edinburgh who has decided to “choose not to choose life.” Instead, he chooses smack, along with a group of “friends” that include a James Bond-obsessed dealer (Sick Boy), a bumbling sweetheart (Spud), and a terrifyingly violent alcoholic who doesn’t even do drugs (Begbie). It’s a frantic, hallucinogenic journey through the highs of the needle and the absolute, septic-tank lows of withdrawal. It’s the ultimate movie about trying to kick a habit while your social circle acts like a bucket of crabs pulling you back into the filth.
THE PROS
Danny Boyle’s direction is like a shot of adrenaline—kinetic, colorful, and utterly fearless. Ewan McGregor’s Renton is the perfect unreliable narrator, blending a sharp intellect with a total lack of moral backbone. The soundtrack is a 9/10 on its own, cementing “Lust for Life” as the official anthem of running away from your problems. It manages to find a pitch-black humor in situations that should be purely tragic, making you laugh at things you’ll definitely feel guilty about later. Plus, the “Worst Toilet in Scotland” sequence is a masterclass in surrealist horror-comedy.
THE CONS
It is aggressively “90s indie,” which might feel a bit dated to younger viewers. The thick Scottish accents are so dense that the first 20 minutes actually had to be re-dubbed for American audiences, and even then, you might want to keep the subtitles on standby. Some of the scenes—particularly involving a neglected baby—are genuinely traumatizing and skip right past “edgy” into “soul-crushing.” It’s also unapologetically nihilistic; if you’re looking for a redemptive “just say no” message, you’re in the wrong zip code.
THE VERDICT
A “Guaranteed Banger” that defined a generation. It’s the cool, gritty older brother of the drug-movie genre that refuses to preach to you. It’s a 9/10 because it’s a visceral, high-speed ride that leaves you breathless, disgusted, and strangely energized. Just don’t expect to ever look at a bowl of chocolate mousse the same way again.
INSOMNIAC TRIVIA
That infamous “poop” in the toilet scene? It was actually just chocolate mousse—Ewan McGregor reportedly found the scene quite “tasty” to film. Also, Oasis was asked to be on the soundtrack, but Noel Gallagher turned them down because he thought the movie was literally about people who watch trains at stations. Another fun one: Robert Carlyle played Begbie as a “closeted gay man,” using his repressed sexuality as the engine for all that terrifying, random violence.
THE VIBE
Like a dirty, neon-lit nightclub at 4 AM where the music is too loud, the floor is sticky, and you’re pretty sure you just lost your wallet—but you’re having the time of your life.

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