Looking back at Trainspotting, which was released 25 years ago this week, one of its most striking qualities is the sheer amount of its young talent. While they probably would all have found success had Trainspotting never existed, there’s nevertheless something special about seeing them all together in this film – as though it carried an explosive charge, sparked by the coming together of the right people, at the right time for the right subject. Danny Boyle’s film was instantly popular upon its release and arguably one of the most influential pieces of modern British cinema – both descriptors for just the opening scene. The sight of Ewans McGregor and Bremner pelting down Princes Street while the now-iconic “Choose Life” speech reels off its gloriously tongue-in-cheek cynicism, all to the crashing, chaotic drums of ‘Lust for Life’, one of Boyle’s most perfect musical choices, is still cinematic dynamite.

Its image and place played a key part too. In 2021, Edinburgh has a reputation as of the most beautiful cities in the world. A financial centre and a successful university town overlooked by a castle, its outward appearance does not seem to align with the version put out by the film. However, only a few years before Trainspotting was released Edinburgh had been named the AIDS capital of Europe. The epidemic spread so rapidly through the city primarily because of its disproportionate number of heroin users and their habit of sharing needles. The disease carried with it a viscous stigma, and government policy at the time was to punish addicts as criminals rather than to treat them for the sickness they had. As a result, a chunk of Edinburgh’s population was looked down upon and treated with contempt even as they suffered.

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Courtesy of: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Irvine Welsh’s original novel was one of the first to address this era of Edinburgh’s history. While they probably would not win any awards for their virtue, Renton, Spud, Sick Boy, Begbie, and Tommy brought a much-needed humanity and sympathy to this slice of society. Screenwriter John Hodge’s script elevated Welsh’s prose to biting, occasionally laugh-out-loud satire. The ‘Choose Life’ speech is his invention and it completely skewers the famous campaign of the same name. He reveals it to be the vapid, empty phrase it is; as though living a successful, healthy ‘good’ life is simply a matter of choice, even mocking the idea that such a life was ever desirable. It is a cutting indictment of the attitudes of the time, delivered by a new, rebellious voice with a sense of humour and an unforgettable rhythm – and that is only in the first five minutes. Hodge was more than deserving of his Academy Award nomination, all the more remarkable as it was only his second outing as a writer.

Trainspotting was only the second outing for Danny Boyle too. He had previously worked with both Hodge and McGregor on Shallow Grave – another smaller, Edinburgh thriller. Trainspotting is a more ambitious film but was not much more expensive to shoot, making it a textbook example of being creative with what resources are at hand. With a limit on film, Boyle was really only able to get one take of each shot, which is a problem he seems to have whole-heartedly embraced. The result is a grungy, grubby film that fits the attitude of Hodge’s script, taking pride in its cheap, dirty, hand-made aesthetic. Which, ironically, gives it a freshness that other meticulously perfected films do not. Most impressive is his, now signature, cutting.

Trainspotting (the novel) is more a collection of short stories loosely strung together. To reflect that, Trainspotting (the film) is more a series of sequences than scenes. The film’s rhythm comes from Boyle’s construction of these sequences rather than narrative progression. Boyle cross-cuts between characters, building momentum through juxtaposition and parallels. Nearly every sequence of Trainspotting comes with a moment of humour, fantasy, grim reality, and horror. Underpinning it all is his exquisite choice of music which develops the rhythm, atmosphere and storytelling of the sequence it is used in. As the film progresses, these sequences bleed together, sometimes reflecting and echoing each other. Adding meaning and significance to moments that came before or after, as though he is building a collage that shows the wider cohesive narrative. To return to the opening scene: Boyle repeats the sequence later on in the film but now, with added context, it takes on a completely new atmosphere despite no change to the footage. Reflected in the speech later doled out to them by a draconian Judge, Renton and Spud now seem to be running away from a harsh and unsympathetic world.

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Courtesy of: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

The film simply wouldn’t be the same without the cast – the sheer amount of teenage wall space they took up in poster form is testament enough to that. It is immensely satisfying to see a group of people, each as great as the last, all go on to have brilliant careers of their own. While at points the film has an over-the-top style, it remains grounded because the performances are played for real, earnest feeling. 25 years on Robert Carlyle is still terrifying, Kevin McKidd still heart-breaking, Johnny Lee Miller still creepily charming, and Ewen Bremner still hilarious. It also features one of the earliest appearances of the now omnipresent Peter Mullan and, of course, it introduced Kelly Macdonald who turns in consistently stellar work and continues to have one of the best voices in the business. And, if Ewan McGregor was not a star already, he was the moment he started running towards that camera.

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Courtesy of: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Trainspotting is a phenomenally good film that goes from strength to strength in its picture of Edinburgh’s lost – but not helpless – youth. Picking out a single moment to define the film is difficult, but if you had to (wall-crawling nightmare baby to your head) it would have to be the opening. That run down Princes Street marked the moment that some of the most exciting and exhilarating talent in British cinema finally arrived.