Screening Report 1: UK: Trainspotting

Melanie Flores

Comm 3202- 01

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class we spoke about the film and the people involved with the movie. We discussed the director, Danny Boyle who is known for other great movies such as Slumdog Millionaire and Steve Jobs. He works in particularly with Ewan McGregor who stars in a handful of his movies, and in Trainspotting he plays the lead role. We also went over the style of the movie where we talked about the beginning of the film and how it transitioned with each character falling onto the ground whenever they took a hit of heroin.

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.  (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet.  Cite the article and copy the link to your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any content.

My article is from Vice and is entitled “An Oral History of Trainspotting, 20 Years Later”, and it is  an interview with Ewan McGregor, Kelly MacDonald, and Irvine Welsh. First they discussed the book and neither McGregor or MacDonald read the book until after their auditions. Welsh, the author of the original novel was worried about who would produce the film, but felt at ease by the energy Boyle had and had full trust in him. He also mentioned that many people were interested in directing his novel but Boyle impressed him the most. During auditions MacDonald wasn’t sure what she was doing with her life but found her calling when she saw a flyer for auditions for Trainspotting. She was excited to have the role but she was also very nervous being around the other talent. They all also discussed their favorite scenes, McGregor liked the underwater scene for its calmness, MacDonald enjoyed the club scene, and Welsh thought the drug withdrawal scene was phenomenal because it really showed the horrors of getting off heroin. McGregor and Welsh also discussed their reactions to the finished film and they expressed how amazed they felt and enjoyed the reaction from others. However, MacDonald remembers Bobby Carlye’s reaction to watching the film and how he felt embarrassed every time he was on screen. They also went over the backlash they received from the film and how many accused the movie of glamorizing drug culture and making heroin look enjoyable. The last thing they discussed was the upcoming sequel and how it is based on the novel Porno, which Welsh wrote as a sequel to Trainspotting. They are genuinely excited for the film and to work together again on set.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/an-oral-history-of-the-movie-trainspotting

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.   How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?
The article does change the way I view the film because it gives more insight of what the actors were doing while filming, and what the author was thinking during the process as well. I actually was not aware that the film was originally a novel, which I find interesting because the story is so visual that I can’t imagine it as a novel. The article also tells us more about the backlash the film received, although the film had a cult following many people were worried that it was making drug culture too glamorized for youths who watched the film during the late 90s.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion,  formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.  I am less interested in whether you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this)  than I am in your understanding of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

One of the things I loved most about the film was the way it transitioned scenes, especially in the scene where Renton climbs up the fence and jumps down and lands in a new scene. It was clean and stylish and added to the strange but enticing fantasy of the story. I also disagree with the backlash the film received in the past, I don’t see it as something that glamorizes drugs, on the contrary I think it shows the consequences of drug culture. Trainspotting has a scene where baby Dawn dies due to neglect, and the main reason why that happens is because her parents were high on drugs for so many days they forgot about her. This is the film’s wake up call to the audience that it does get harder for our characters as they dive deeper into their drug abuse. We also see Renton almost die from a drug overdose and having to detox at his parents’ house. His detox scene shows us his pain away from heroin and how it’s a roller coaster of fears and emotions. I enjoy that from the film, it doesn’t shy away from the joy drugs might make you feel and it definitely shows the nightmares it brings you.

References

An Oral History of 'Trainspotting' 20 Years Later. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/an-oral-history-of-the-movie-trainspotting

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( X ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( X ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( X ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( X ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( X ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( X ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( X ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (  X) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Melanie Flores______________________________________  Date: ________2-6-17____________________