"Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers."

Trainspotting is a trip through the underground drug-filled world of Edinburgh. The guide for the trip is Mark Renton, an on-off heroin addict. We also meet his friends, Sick Boy, Spud, Begbie, Tommy... 

Really, how can I explain the plot? Again, this is one of those stories you can't explain with few sentences. Well of course you can say "it's a movie about drug addicts", but that doesn't cover it. I can't help but admire writers, who write stories that can't be put in three or fewer sentences. (I mean if you can but the idea in few words, why write the story at all?) 

Anyway, I fucking finally made it and watched Trainspotting. And I wasn't sure what I was expecting. I mean I had read about 50 pages and then I returned the book for no apparent reason. So when I started watching the movie, I didn't know much of what was going to happen. I knew about that one scene in the toilet, but it wasn't exactly like in the book. But if I expected something, my expectations were mostly based on 'Filth' or 'The Bedroom Secrets Of Master Chefs', both novels by Irvine Welsh, though the latter is much more softer than he earlier work. But I need to read Trainspotting also, because otherwise I can't read 'Porno' or 'Skagboys', and were some of the characters from Trainspotting also in 'Glue'? I have no idea.

I'm going to have to compare Trainspotting with Filth. It's kinda funny that even though Filth and Trainspotting are directed by different people, there is something so similar in them. I don't know if it's on purpose, or some sort of style just goes well with Welsh's novels. And Trainspotting also had kind of similar structure. And by structure I mean the fact that the beginning is mostly hilarious, but the story gets much, much darker towards the end. However, then again Trainspotting partly wasn't as dark as Filth, which makes me really wonder how much the movie is different compared to the book. I mean it felt almost unreal that it wasn't as distressing as Filth, I mean Trainspotting feels like it should be more distressing. ... I really need to read the book...

But seriously, Trainspotting was very good. I mean of course my company wasn't the best possible one. I mean it's not awkward at all to sit on a sofa with my dad with sex scenes on. But seriously everyone else was asleep when we watched Trainspotting, and I was afraid that they would wake up because - at least in the beginning - we laughed so much and so loud. I mean it was so unbelievably and extravagantly ridiculous!

I remember about two years ago a friend (or, well, a friend of a friend?) compared Trainspotting and Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, and I don't remember everything she said, but basically she said Trainspotting was lame and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas was better, because you could see the effects of the drugs more. I disagree. In Fear And Loathing yes, you can see the fucking dinosaurs (was there dinosaurs????) the main characters hallucinate but seriously, it wasn't as funny as my friend (of a friend) made it seem. Mostly it was just distressing, and almost boring. Well, in Trainspotting the characters just lie around when they are on heroin, but that is more realistic. That is what heroin does, and that's what it looks like. And the effect was described with words, because you can't obviously show it, but still it was done very finely. And if there's one thing I like about Trainspotting over Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, is that Trainspotting doesn't judge or moralise. I mean of course it shows everything bad about drugs, but the movie doesn't slap you in the face and scream how drugs are bad for you. It doesn't have to. it shows things as they are. But it also doesn't romanticise drug-abuse. I mean that kind of "neutrality" truly shows some skill.

I don't know who I should recommend Trainspotting. Even though in video rental place it was on 'classics' -shelf, it's more of a cult classic. Not everyone likes it, and it may be too harsh for some people. But I have a feeling people should watch Trainspotting, partly because of its reputation, partly because it truly is great. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

9 / 10