Trainspotting Opening Scene Analysis
Straightaway as soon as the movie opens we are aligned with Renton through use of voiceover and framing. In contrast to the heavy subject matter, the film narratively opens halfway through a scene, dropping the audience in the midst of action and subsequently engaging them. The non-diegetic upbeat Iggy Pop rock music creates an upbeat and exciting atmosphere and the cinematography is fairly bright and colourful yet at this stage still realistic.
The scene opens with Renton and Spud being chased, running towards the camera as Renton delivers his infamous "choose life" monologue. It discusses traditional life yet in a cynical way with an ironic view and satirical tone. According to Renton, life is food, work, material possessions, bills and dental insurance, friendship, ageing and death- and Renton "chooses not to choose life".
Essentially the film's ideology s conveyed through Renton, and at this point in the film the audience is told "who needs reasons when you have heroin". It discusses this further stating "people think it's [heroine] about misery and death" "...it's about the pleasure of it. otherwise we wouldn't do it". this nihilistic approach and honesty appealed to younger audiences and was refreshing to hear. As the movie progresses the negative possibilities of drug use are clearly shown, yet kids enjoyed not being preached to in a monotone voice about how people take drugs because they're depressed and the whole experience is horrific. Trainspotting presents this subject in a lively, fun, energetic and engaging manner yet doesn't dilute it's subject matter. It exhibits the characters as more than just their addiction; it shows them as real people and left the audience to be active spectators in terms of their opinions on heroin.
In terms of film form, the opening scene utilises kinetic editing and an upbeat score and lots of camera movement. It introduces the main character with a freeze-frame and subtitles. Furthermore it uses match cuts in the opening scene and various times throughout the rest of the film. The opening scene also contains voiceover and non-diegetic rock music, which appears extremely lively and vibrant, yet it's also quite risky since it's very busy and there's a lot going on.
Furthermore, when we are introduced to the other characters, we are cleverly introduced to their core characteristics. The boys are playing a game of football- Sick Boy slyly strips someone over and protests it wasn't him and Begbie displays full on brutality by side-
tackling someone up front and honestly. And then there's Spud who is just doing his best but still manages to fail. Finally we have Tommy who get's backed up into a corner as Renton's voiceover describes "choose rotting away at the end of it all" clearly foreshadowing his miserable and tragic fate.
The film then uses a match cut, keeping the editing interesting and refreshing.
The mise-en-scene in the grimy bedsits summarise the nature of the film rather effectively: realistically dingy yet balanced with glamorisation. The actual props used are nothing but unpleasant, extremely unhygienic and low-class, yet beautiful washes of colours are used throughout and the holes in the wall allow a great amount of light into the room and there are aesthetic art pieces on the walls.
There is hand held camera movement as the scene continues and upon second viewing the baby is noticeably present. Sick Boy and Alison are also framed very close together in mid shots and over the shoulder shots, also foreshadowing the unfortunate incident.
There is a brief shot of Sick Boy droning on about a "muscular actor" portraying his toxic masculinity and viewpoint. The characters seem very happy; vibrantly laughing and full of life as they experiment with the drug.
Renton is then seen lying alone in the bed-sit, claiming the only "principle drawback" of heroin is listening to non-users discuss it's negatives. The scene uses a dynamic cut, transitioning half-way through Renton's sentence to the end of Begbie's. Renton starts " the drawback is listening to people-" as it cuts to Begbie's line "no way would i poison my body with that shite!". The camera slowly zooms in as he delivers his lines. He is exhibited as a hypocrite after downing a shot of whiskey, as is Tommy stating "it's a waste of your life man; poisoning your body with that shite!" whilst smoking a cigarette. It's a simple way of showing-not telling.
One of the last shots in the opening sequence is of Renton sitting down at the table with his family. It's framed extremely claustrophobically and through visual use of film form it's made abundantly clear how Renton feels about his family. Although the mise-en-scene isn't as dirty and dingy as their beloved bed-sits, there's no windows and subsequently no light allowed into the room; it's cramped, restrictive and portrayed as something you'd want to escape from. Additionally Renton is lit with stark contrast to his parents. You can't even make out the colours of his clothes because he's lit so darkly and he's casted almost as an outsider in his own home. The colour palette is dull, there's a lot of shadow casted on the walls and the camera is still. It deliberately differs strikingly to the scenes shot at their bedsits where there's lots of camera movement, light and colour. Essentially, there is no life in this shot.
Furthermore, when we are introduced to the other characters, we are cleverly introduced to their core characteristics. The boys are playing a game of football- Sick Boy slyly strips someone over and protests it wasn't him and Begbie displays full on brutality by side-
tackling someone up front and honestly. And then there's Spud who is just doing his best but still manages to fail. Finally we have Tommy who get's backed up into a corner as Renton's voiceover describes "choose rotting away at the end of it all" clearly foreshadowing his miserable and tragic fate.
The film then uses a match cut, keeping the editing interesting and refreshing.
The mise-en-scene in the grimy bedsits summarise the nature of the film rather effectively: realistically dingy yet balanced with glamorisation. The actual props used are nothing but unpleasant, extremely unhygienic and low-class, yet beautiful washes of colours are used throughout and the holes in the wall allow a great amount of light into the room and there are aesthetic art pieces on the walls.
There is hand held camera movement as the scene continues and upon second viewing the baby is noticeably present. Sick Boy and Alison are also framed very close together in mid shots and over the shoulder shots, also foreshadowing the unfortunate incident.
There is a brief shot of Sick Boy droning on about a "muscular actor" portraying his toxic masculinity and viewpoint. The characters seem very happy; vibrantly laughing and full of life as they experiment with the drug.
Renton is then seen lying alone in the bed-sit, claiming the only "principle drawback" of heroin is listening to non-users discuss it's negatives. The scene uses a dynamic cut, transitioning half-way through Renton's sentence to the end of Begbie's. Renton starts " the drawback is listening to people-" as it cuts to Begbie's line "no way would i poison my body with that shite!". The camera slowly zooms in as he delivers his lines. He is exhibited as a hypocrite after downing a shot of whiskey, as is Tommy stating "it's a waste of your life man; poisoning your body with that shite!" whilst smoking a cigarette. It's a simple way of showing-not telling.
One of the last shots in the opening sequence is of Renton sitting down at the table with his family. It's framed extremely claustrophobically and through visual use of film form it's made abundantly clear how Renton feels about his family. Although the mise-en-scene isn't as dirty and dingy as their beloved bed-sits, there's no windows and subsequently no light allowed into the room; it's cramped, restrictive and portrayed as something you'd want to escape from. Additionally Renton is lit with stark contrast to his parents. You can't even make out the colours of his clothes because he's lit so darkly and he's casted almost as an outsider in his own home. The colour palette is dull, there's a lot of shadow casted on the walls and the camera is still. It deliberately differs strikingly to the scenes shot at their bedsits where there's lots of camera movement, light and colour. Essentially, there is no life in this shot.
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