8/1001
Trainspotting Danny Boyle, 1996
Trainspotting is a film that funnily enough has nothing to do with trainspotting, but is does have much to do about drugs, heroin mainly.
Set in Edinburgh, Scotland the film follows Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), a heroin addict and his friends, most of which are also heroin addicts through an on/off relationship with the drug. Although the film is quite funny in a lot of places it does have its dark, serious moments in other places which is really rare in films to have such a drastic mood change. There is also a clever use of camera angles to show us the life of these drug addicts, like wonky angles to show intoxication and still angles to show soberness.
The film doesn't glorify drugs in any way but it doesn't put up a big sign with flashing lights saying ‘DO NOT DO DRUGS’ or severally punish the drug addicted characters in some horrific way either which for some reason leads some critics to believe it encourages the use of drugs. Films are not Public Service Announcements! We don’t want to judge these characters but merely watch them waste their life away...Great films show us whatever they want to show us.
