Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Kelly Macdonald, Shirley Henderson, Ewen Bremner, Irvine Welsh, Anjela Nedyalkova, Simon Weir
Rating: 18
Running Time: 117 Minutes
Release Date: 27/01/17
I was too young to experience any of the revolutionary impact of Trainspotting and, admittedly, I didn’t even see it until this week. Which is probably blasphemous for someone who has such a passion for films but there you go.
Also maybe its because I’ve spent years hearing about this film that I wasn’t as blown away by it as I should’ve been. I enjoyed it, sure but I only saw its impact through a variety of interviews and responses to the new film.
However, after seeing the new film, reflecting on the original as part one of a bigger story, I get it. Trainspotting came at the end of the 20th century, a visceral, powerhouse experience that was the battle cry of a disenfranchised generation.
T2: Trainspotting captures pretty much most of the game-changing energy, channelling a different story and evolving the thematics into something altogether more melancholy.
Whereas T1 had Lust for Life as a statement of youthful defiance, T2 uses it as a means of regressive nostalgia. It’s a song used sparingly and with efficiency, only coming in when its meaning had changed.
Remember that the whole thing with The Worlds End was that Gary King never had the life that was promised in his youth and thus spends the movie desperately clinging to a semblance of those dreams.
Well, T2 has that same flavour of bitter aftertaste, in the best possible way. Pixar tends to do extremely well in making reflective sequels for the young who grew up between the films, Andy’s college departure in Toy Story 3 matching the exact experiences its primary demographic were going through at the time.
T2 is the 18 rated version of that; except matured young adults are replaced with the greying middle-aged and college is replaced with the lost dreams and broken promises.
Not that it’s not a fun movie because it most certainly is. It’s funny and energising with moments that feel so rich and outside the box. But Danny Boyle hasn’t lost any of the edges that have defined his career. He’s still got the ability to challenge and thrill, wrapping pathos in layers of vicious creativity.
The film IS funny but that’s not the point. The moments I loved were the ones that made you feel something else, even coming from someone who was can’t relate to the original nor the 20 years later sequel.
The camerawork, cinematography, editing, music choices and design are all exquisite and from people who get to make all their own decisions. Boyle won’t let this be something half-assed, it still has that same raw power, just everyone’s older.
Watch the T2 Trainspotting World Premiere red carpet interviews here
The returning cast, Ewan, Ewen, Robert and Jonny et all are all excellent, only Ewan feeling like he’s been softened over the years. Then, that might be the point.
The story is kind of beside the point. The brothel/money storyline is only incidental, driving things forward. It’s more the stuff with Begbie on the hunt for Renton, Spud struggling with his addiction and trying to support his friends, that matter most.
I loved the menace and rage that Robert Carlyle feeds into Begbie and during the films excellent chase sequence, I was gripping the edge of my seat.
The threat is there and though we’re with Renton all the way it must be said that we do feel a slight bit of sympathy for Begbie as the film unfolds and he confronts his past.
However, it’s Spud who gets the real emotional weight here as he tries to pull himself together and find a substitute for his addiction. This just ties back into the films emotional core as the guys try to come to terms with their misspent pasts and forge futures for themselves.
Elsewhere, Kelly MacDonald is as wasted as in the first film, getting one scene before being left as is Shirley Henderson.
Luckily, however, that’s a sign of the film’s refusal to be just a bunch of callbacks to the original. It’s part of the reason why Lust for Life doesn’t turn up straight away; the callbacks are intrinsically tied into the narrative, making any moment that reflects key scenes from T1 intentionally designed to be important TO the characters.
It’s remarkable that Danny Boyle has made a film that has the same vim and vigour of the original yet manages to say something new. It’s not a carbon copy to appease fans and it’s not unrecognisable. Instead, it has a level of pathos and nuance that can only exist when you’ve had that pre-established structure of youth in rebellion.
For once, this is a sequel that feels necessary instead of manufactured. It may be a film that appeals to an older generation but I came to it with not baggage and came out having enjoyed it immensely.
Verdict
