Review of Trainspotting (1996) by Potarto72 — 21 Dec 2014

I know. I know. I'm so, so sorry. This is a completely beloved film, and I absolutely hate everything about it.

Once again, I have to admit, I only got about 60% of the way through this awful film. Let me recite everything I remember.

Ewan McGregor swims into a disgusting toilet full of turds to retrieve his heroine. It's supposed to be a metaphor, but all it really is is a stomachache. I suppose it may just be a metaphor for what McGregor did when he got the lead role in this film. Next, McGregor's character Renton and one of his friends are at a park. They shoot a dog with a BB gun, so it will get angry and violently attack its owner. Why? Ha! F**k you! We just like to hurt people! Boyle isn't even trying now. Then, some guy in a bar gets kicked in the groin and gives those dumb over-acted reactions actors give when their characters get hit in the groin, which only happens in the first place because the writers are lazy as **** Anyway, I couldn't take it anymore, so I stopped watching. I've heard other reviews of the film. Apparently the heroine addicts have a friggin' baby, and it dies of thirst after being neglected. Woohoo! Movie night!

Listen, you can make a film that has horrifying imagery if your goal is to warn the audience. George Orwell understood that. Tarantino understands that. Danny Boyle? Didn't seem to understand it here. You can do it, but not when you give your film this weird comedic wrapping that Trainspotting has. It acts like a comedy, which to me, is insulting and cruel.