Ideological Themes & Narrative Resolutions in Trainspotting

Tommy's Narrative Resolution

Tommy's best encapsulates the narrative themes of drugs and it explores their consequences, which is ironic since at the beginning Tommy seemed the least likely character to explore this theme. Additionally the themes life and death are highlighted in this scene, which can also be looked at as binary opposites.  

 In the cut before this scene Renton mentions how lucky he actually is to be tested negative right in the middle of an epidemic. The audience then infers the subtext in the next scene.  

From the offset this scene is different in terms of the movie's typical bright and surreal colour palette. The framing of Tommy looking out of the window with his hands up against it, distorted from the glass with faeces smeared across his walls and "aids junky scum" highlighted with graffiti is immediately quite grim and depressing. As we enter the apartment the bright and colourful look associated with the characters bedsits has been stripped away and we are left with very miserable and bleak mise-en-scene. The height of Tommy's downfall is all the more tragic because he had the most to lose. Tommy was the least deserving of this fate; he was athletic, he worked out and played football, stated he'd never poison his body with heroin, and generally led a better lifestyle than the rest of his group. However it just so happened that the first time he experimented with drugs, he got sucked in and caught aids. 

Domestic interior plays a huge role to communicate the tragedy in this scene, as well as film form. When we contrast Tommy's apartment now to the way it looked before everything has noticeably decayed. Film form strips everything away- there's no colour, no music and the cinematography is very dim and dark. The Iggy Pop poster which essentially symbolises Tommy has disintegrated and his football has deflated. Immediately the sarcastic comedic tone has been replaced with an utterly melancholic one.

I think it's an interesting reading that perhaps all of the bedsits look like this, yet the characters, high on drugs all the time are seeing them through a different perspective. Maybe they see a world that's vibrant and colourful and fun and subsequently we see them like that, yet when Renton, whom we are aligned with visits a bed sit sober all that can be seen is decay and dilapidation. 

As Tommy realises the state of affairs that Tommy is in, there's a momentary look of horror in his face, yet his persona quickly changes as he casually acts as if there's nothing wrong. He begins kicking the deflated football against the wall as the decaying Iggy Pop poster takes centre frame. He makes casual conversation with Tommy before taking a seat. Shadows are utilised on the wall, adding to the atmosphere. Tommy inquires about the test, asking if Renton is clear. Both characters recognise the irony in the fact that he is; that Renton should be the one lying in bed with "aids junky scum" written on his walls. 

Renton apologises as a throwaway comment, yet we know from the withdrawal scene in reality it's quite a heartfelt apology loaded with guilt. Then Tommy asks if he has any "gear" on him and the irony runs deeper, and since Renton is clean he gives him money to buy some instead. As the exchange takes place, so does an unspoken conversation with quite a lot to read between the lines, resulting in a very layered scene. This moment that takes place between them feels quite genuine as they both smile at each other. There is a high Vs low angle conveying the power dynamic as they are acknowledging the irony and essentially having that "this should've been you" "yeah, i know" conversation. Yet Tommy isn't resentful towards Renton, he understands it's not his fault it's just the way life is sometimes- it's all down to luck. Fortunate for Renton he is very lucky. He escapes prison when sympathetic Spud is sentences and he escapes aids and a very sympathetic Tommy catches it. 

The scene ends as Renton kicks the ball towards the camera onto the next cut, ensuring the editing does not become bleak and boring for the audience. It's quite a heavy scene with a lot of depth and extreme subject matter. The binary opposites of life and death can be seen through contrasting Tommy at the beginning of the film and by the end of his narrative resolution. 

As for the themes of drugs that at times is glamorised, it can be argued this scene is doing the opposite of that. The sheer bleakness of the scene presenting the possibilities of drugs is quite a harsh yet real portrayal of drug use, especially at the time. 

The End Scene- The Betrayal 

The end scene opens with the diegetic music that represents the future  playing by Underworld. All of the characters lie in bed asleep except for Renton who's wide away, conveying through non-verbal communication how anxious he is by biting his nails.

This scene clearly has a lot of emotional depth for our character as he psyches himself up in the mirror before-hand through an over-the-shoulder shot. He takes a glass and fills it up with tap water. Theres a bottle of Buckfast in the background of the mise-en-scene, a perfect drink to associate with 

Scottish national identity as it became an extremely popularised choice of drink for "neds".

The cinematography isn't necessarily dark yet it lacks the vibrant colour from previous scenes when the boys were high on drugs together. Renton is now sober and alone, separated from his friends. 

The diegetic music continue as Renton makes his way over to Begbie who's cuddling the bag of money like it's his baby; it's questionable whether or not he would share the money anyway...

There's quite a tense feeling evoked within the audience as Renton gently and carefully detaches Begbie from the money. We know he could wake up at any moment and if he did Renton would be a dead man! 

After he secures the money, he steps over Sick Boy who's sleeping on the floor, clearly without remorse as he most likely would've done the same thing given the chance. However as Renton stands at the door it cuts to a point of view shot. The camera pans from left to right across the room, landing on Spud who appears to be shedding a tear.

Once again an unspoken conversation takes place between Renton and Spud this time. Spud being the most sympathetic character left makes this scene more emotive. Renton pauses for a moment-looking quite remorseful- giving Spud the opportunity to go with him. But the camera cuts back to Spud who shakes his head as if to say "I can't" or more likely "I just canny do it Renton".  It's quite heartbreaking as it's clear Spud is more torn up over the betrayal rather than losing the money. With the intense diegetic techno still plays in the background, Renton gives a quick nod, equivalent to goodbye.

Renton leaves the building quite hastily as his voiceover begins. He claims "i've justified this to myself in all sorts of ways" yet it essentially boils down to "but lets face it i ripped them off...my so called friends". As he delivers this line a disorientating shot at a low angle and framed sideways appears, throwing the audience off a bit. As Renton approaches the camera his bag hovers over it momentarily and it is re-positioned to have him walking away in the framing; something different in comparison to a traditional shot which would have the camera dolly-panning or perhaps a dramatic close-up. 

As Renton discusses his lack of remorse for Begbie and Sick Boy, he concludes he feels sorry for Spud as "he never hurt anybody". Yet as he discusses this he places four grand in a locker for him which gains Renton a few sympathy point. 

The camera then cuts to Begbie from a high angle smashing and tearing apart the hotel room and screaming  various curse words at the top of his lungs whilst the others wait outside, staying away from Begbie's deadly path of destruction. The framing is once again not a traditional and conventional mid-shot for example, the high angle results in a very confined and awkward feel. The audience feels as though they are squashed in a corner just trying not to get hit by Begbie. The Police then show up and Spud and Sick-boy depart, leaving Begbie to his fate. The diegetic music continues.

The camera then cuts back to Renton and his voiceover. There's a long shot of a bridge and a tiny figure moving across it. It's extremely foggy and misty and there's almost a purple tint to it. Renton asks "So why did I do it? The truth is i'm a bad person". I personally think the fact that Renton is honest and direct to himself and admits the truth it makes him more of a sympathetic character. Although, whilst the film acknowledges he's done a bad thing, it's also shown us why he's done it. Clearly he has not had the most promising life and upon the first attempt to escape to London, towards a better life,  his friends dragged him back into everything that Leith represents. Furthermore, through alignment the audience can't help but to want the best for Renton and makes his actions slightly more excusable. 

Renton's voiceover continues and through a close-up shot alternating in and out of focus claims "i'm cleaning up and i'm moving on. Going straight and choosing life" "I'm gonna be just like you" before listing all the dull commodities that life provides. Renton is smiling, the cinematography is bright and natural and with more upbeat context the Underworld song which is still playing provides a happy-ending atmosphere through all elements of film form. However the question is left: is choosing life and adhering to consumerism, joining the rest of civilisation and as described in the nihilistic opening "rotting away at the end of it all" such an upbeat concept for Renton? That's left ambiguous, yet definitely not as upbeat as initially presumed. 

As the shot becomes more and more out of focus is finally fades to black. Then, a shot of Spud finding the money inside the locker is shown. He smiles and slams the locker door shut as the screen fades to black for the last time, ending the film on an actual upbeat tone. 

Essentially through Renton's narrative resolution the ideological theme of escapism is immensely highlighted, commenting on how sometimes you outgrow your friends and you need to move on from them to move on in life; subsequently the theme of friendship falls under this as well. Secondly life is presented as an ideological theme, yet it's left ambiguous as to what the opinion of the film actually is. It's mostly left ambiguous for the viewer to decide yet through a nihilistic voice of our protagonist.