Youth and Addiction in Trainspotting
Youth and Addiction in Trainspotting
In the opening scene of Trainspotting, the viewers are introduced to the all-encompassing aspect of the character's lives: addiction. The opening shot is a close up of the character's feet from the back, followed by a shot from the front tracking back, as they run from the authorities. The lack of characterisation in this shot solely focuses on the speed and adrenaline of the scene, as there is no indication to who is running and why, therefore the film is immediately introduced to the audience as a high, presenting the character's priorities. There is then a straight cut to a medium close up of Renton and Spud, tracking back as they run. The camera is handheld giving the scene a reckless feeling, referring to the freedom and lack of responsibility experienced within youth. This is shot from a low angle, implying that the characters we are introduced to feel they are superior, highlighting the mutual effect that both addiction and youth have on someone, which would be the disregard for others and self-glorification. This also links to the character's ideology of "Cool Britannia" at the time, as their culture was developing and Britain became the superior country for pop culture. This opening scene almost glorifies addiction as it links it to the highs and adrenaline of youth, however the scene goes on to discretely criticise it's effect on the characters.
As Renton gets hit by a car, he looks into the camera which is in the position of the driver, and laughs maniacally. As the driver has not been established, this creates a direct connection between Renton and the audience making them feel uncomfortable and more hesitant to support this character and his choices. The mise-en-scene in the next few shots create a rotting view of addiction. Renton is shown in the middle of and empty room, clearly intoxicated. The colour palette for the room is mostly brown, highlighting the idea of decay or rot and presenting the effects drugs have had on his life. On one end of the room there is a dark corridor, and opposite, a light window. This introduces the element of life and death in the film, suggesting that Renton's drug use is having an unhealthy impact on him. There is also a hole in the wall behind him, perhaps suggesting a lack of safety or security in his life. Whilst cementing the idea of his life decaying, the hole may represent reality trying to break into his world, which he ignores with the numbness of drugs and the highs of youth.
Youth and Addiction are both extremely prevalent themes within Trainspotting. The director highlights unity and friendship in both of these themes in order to show the different affects that addiction can have on someone's youth. The film both glorifies and criticises recreational drug use and uses the relationships the boys have with each other to comment on that.
In the opening scene of Trainspotting, the viewers are introduced to the all-encompassing aspect of the character's lives: addiction. The opening shot is a close up of the character's feet from the back, followed by a shot from the front tracking back, as they run from the authorities. The lack of characterisation in this shot solely focuses on the speed and adrenaline of the scene, as there is no indication to who is running and why, therefore the film is immediately introduced to the audience as a high, presenting the character's priorities. There is then a straight cut to a medium close up of Renton and Spud, tracking back as they run. The camera is handheld giving the scene a reckless feeling, referring to the freedom and lack of responsibility experienced within youth. This is shot from a low angle, implying that the characters we are introduced to feel they are superior, highlighting the mutual effect that both addiction and youth have on someone, which would be the disregard for others and self-glorification. This also links to the character's ideology of "Cool Britannia" at the time, as their culture was developing and Britain became the superior country for pop culture. This opening scene almost glorifies addiction as it links it to the highs and adrenaline of youth, however the scene goes on to discretely criticise it's effect on the characters.
As Renton gets hit by a car, he looks into the camera which is in the position of the driver, and laughs maniacally. As the driver has not been established, this creates a direct connection between Renton and the audience making them feel uncomfortable and more hesitant to support this character and his choices. The mise-en-scene in the next few shots create a rotting view of addiction. Renton is shown in the middle of and empty room, clearly intoxicated. The colour palette for the room is mostly brown, highlighting the idea of decay or rot and presenting the effects drugs have had on his life. On one end of the room there is a dark corridor, and opposite, a light window. This introduces the element of life and death in the film, suggesting that Renton's drug use is having an unhealthy impact on him. There is also a hole in the wall behind him, perhaps suggesting a lack of safety or security in his life. Whilst cementing the idea of his life decaying, the hole may represent reality trying to break into his world, which he ignores with the numbness of drugs and the highs of youth.
This lack of safety in their lifestyle is later cancelled out by the idea of unity in the football scene. Each of the boys are introduced using a freeze frame of them with their name next to them, presenting them to the audience as the most significant characters. The women, also significant characters, are not introduced, like the team they are playing against. As the focus of this scene is the game, the director distances the women from the boys and puts them within the match, suggesting that everything within the boy's lives is a game to them, due to their youthful ideology and outlook on life. This also highlights the boys as one unit, implying that they are going through their addiction and life choices together. Due to the fast pace and upbeat non-diegetic music within this scene the director again glorifies addiction and youth, but only refers to the experience they have communally.
Later in the film we see a more gruesome presentation of addiction through Tommy's character development when Renton visits him. In the scene he is introduced as being alone, contrasting to the football scene. For example, the scene opens with the words "AIDS Junky Scum" painted on the wall by his apartment. This use of the mise-en-scene links Tommy to victims of AIDS in this time period, who were ostracised for contracting the disease. Despite not knowing if Tommy is a victim of this, the audience can still link the discrimination of those people with Tommy's isolation from everyone. The director then shows the cruel impact that addiction has had on Tommy's life. In terms of lighting, his room is significantly darker than the corridor, setting a sombre tone, which is then reinforced through the mise-en-scene. A brown colour palette reiterates the idea of decay but this time within Tommy's life. The curtains are closed, perhaps foreshadowing his death further on in the film, and presenting the idea of hopelessness, and his Iggy Pop poster (whom he has previously referred to as his idol), is torn and hanging off of the wall, highlighting the loss of passion Tommy has in his life. This all highlights to the audience the destruction that has been caused through Tommy's addiction, which contrasts to the presentation of drug use within the opening scene. As in the opening, the boys were experiencing their addiction together, it was fast pace and fun as they each encouraged each other. However, Tommy being presented as isolated and decaying reveals the truth behind drug use when it is not glorified by reckless youth.
As Renton gives Tommy the money, it is a representation of him handing over the baton so Tommy can have the lifestyle that Renton has grown out of. We can see this as Renton looks healthier in his appearance, whereas in terms of Tommy's costume and makeup, his clothes are dark and his face is pale. Even his hair, which made him stand out from the group before as it was voluminous and gave him youth, has turned greasy and flat. Therefore, Tommy has taken on the decaying role of the drug addict, which Renton has moved past, and by passing this ideology onto Tommy, Renton further distances him from everyone else as the group are progressing to better things, whilst he is left behind.
In conclusion, Trainspotting uses character development to suggest that the unity of friends and reckless behaviour that comes with the ideology of youth can mask the dangers of addiction. Therefore, the mise-en-scene and lighting is predominantly used to present these dangers behind the careless dialogue of the characters, making Trainspotting a very visual film.
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