Trainspotting

How does the aesthetic quality of ‘Trainspotting’ depict ideological issues of youth and addiction?​

The opening shot of "Trainspotting" is a close up of Renton's lower half, beginning with his feet, as he runs down the street, then through a straight cut, a close up two person tracking shot of Renton and Spud as they are pursued by police. Followed by a close up of stolen goods falling off them as they try to escape capture. Throughout this sequence the colour scheme is mainly brown and grey, and there is a lot of dull mise-en-scene, showing the social realism elements to the film, reflecting the fact that life is often dull and boring, juxtaposed by the idea of a fast police chase through the streets of Edinburgh. However, the dull colours could suggest that the norm for Edinburgh is young men getting chased by the police and that because it happens so often that it too seems dull and boring. This sequence establishes the fact that whilst understanding that robbery is wrong, Renton and Spud both commit crimes, showing that ideologically they must both have a reason for crime. The non-diegetic monologue, that matches the fast pace established by the fast moving camera shots and the non-diegetic music, "Lust for Life" by Iggy pop, begins with Renton saying "Chooses Life", which whilst being almost contrapuntal in meaning to the scene, as Renton is shown not to be conforming to the laws of the ordinary, everyday life that he is describing in the monologue, could be a quote from The Bible, Deuteronomy 30:19 or a reference to Wham!, in their music video for "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go". Either way this is quite ironic, because The Bible is holy and religious, the song is happy and upbeat, and the boys are shoplifting.

As Renton continues running, he is hit by a car, then proceeds to get up and stare menacingly at the driver, we then have a still mid shot of his twisted grin, with the word Renton appearing just below his head. The mise-en-scene of the street is brown and dull, juxtaposed by the bold white capital letters in his name, this is used to highlight the ideology of Renton, he represents the disaffected youths of society, angry and disrespectful; after running into the car he looks threateningly at the driver as if he is in the wrong. This introduction of the main character then cuts to him at Mother Superior's and then cuts back and forth between there and a five a side football pitch where the introductions of the other characters, and their ideologies, take place. On the word "friends" we see a low angle shot of the boys, who are all quite relaxed in stance, Renton even pushes Tommy. One straight cut later, we are given a comparison of the two teams by showing what the more organised team looks like in the exact same stance. I think this shows the difference between those who care; the other team, and those who don't; the boys. Sick boy is shown tripping up another player, then shouts at the referee, before we are shown a still of him, low angle mid shot, mouth open arguing. This shows us that Sick boy's ideology is "breaking the rules is alright, just don't get caught", he represents opportunists and is morally bankrupt. Begbie has just slide tackled a player and is lying on the floor with a huge grin on his face, the freeze frame is a mid-shot, this shows that Begbie is a violent person, and his ideology is injuring people is fun, he's a menace and represents the aggressive youth in society. Spud has run backwards into goal and jumps, trying to save the ball, before failing, and the still of the long shot, shows the ball missing his thigh. the rather ironic mise-en-scene of the superman top, as he fails at saving the ball, shows us that spud is seen to be pathetic in comparison to the others. His ideology is that he tries and means well but often fails at it and he represents the not so intelligent youths in society. Tommy is shown last, being pushed into the corner by the other team, his still shows him abiding by the laws of the game, showing us that his ideology is trying to be normal, trying to conform, however the system is against him. He represents all youths who are trying to choose life, who want to have a future.

When Renton needs to get the "final" hit, but his suppository has fallen into the toilet, we are shown a mid-shot of Renton immediately, showing no signs of hesitation, plunging his hand into the disgusting toilet. The mise-en-scene of this scene is repulsive, the walls are smeared in faeces, and the whole cubicle has a brown and green aesthetic to it. The toilet seat is broken and covered with the excrement, and the ideas that this all creates are horrific because for the dirt to have got everywhere, to the extent that it did, some unspeakable events must have taken place. The whole aesthetic of the shot, horrifyingly dirty, is used to make the audience feel disgusted by Renton having to use the place, never mind sticking his hand into the rank toilet bowl. By showing Renton so desperate for the hit, willing to shove his hand into the filthiest of toilets, and rummage around in faeces, Boyle shows the ideology of an addict, desperate. As he can't find the heroin, he reaches deeper into the disgusting abyss, he pushes his whole body into the liquid and we see the experience of searching for and finding the drugs from Renton's point of view as if he was high, very hyper realistic. This can be seen as a metaphor for Renton hitting rock bottom because he no longer cares about social or hygienic consequences, his only thought is about the drugs and getting the high, showing how dangerous addiction can be and what horrors ordinary people will put themselves through if they are addicted.