The Worst Toilet In Scotland

The worst toilet in Scotland scene perfectly adheres to the nature of Trainspotting as it encapsulates both the most grim and dark as well as the surreal glamorisation.
The scene begins with the jaunty non-diegetic music utilised for comic effect. As Renton begins his voiceover the flats he walks by are insanely and very imaginatively colourful, keeping the film very vibrant whilst discussing quite a repellent topic- Renton being "no longer constipated". We are still very much aligned with Renton through voiceover and point of view shots. As he walks into the bar a shaky hand held camera and disorientating white noise is used whilst all the faces stare into the camera ensuring the audience feels the same anxiety Renton is feeling. Furthermore his luxurious description of his ideal toilet heightens the sense of disgust when we soon see the worst toilet in Scotland. The colour palette in this scene is extremely dull at this part of the scene and the cinematography is not necessarily dark, yet not exuberantly bright either. Even the symmetrical shot of the corridor makes the audience feel uneasy with the flickering lights and zooming. As Renton staggers in subtitles appear, once again for comic effect.
We are then brought inside and everything about the scene at this stage is revolting. The diegetic splashing sound, the colour brown and grey everywhere and the pool of opaque water pooling on the floor. We see one of the stalls from a high angle before a shot of Renton looking down at the toilet at a low angle, and even he winces at the sight of it. The diegetic sound of flies buzzing can be heard, there's a brown substance splashes all over the toilet and the floor, and smeared on the walls. The toilet seat is propped against the wall behind the toilet and the toilet is flooded, once again with a brown muddy substance. Renton yanks the chain to flush, in hopes of clearing but the chain breaks clean off. Nonetheless, Renton is desperate need of a toilet and so he perseveres.
The shot is quite symmetrically framed, with the walls taking up a considerable amount of framing resulting in quite a claustrophobic feel. Renton sits down on the toilet and it somehow gets even more revolting. The very loud diegetic sound of Renton...unloading... is dragged out for an uncomfortable length before it cuts to a close up of his face. He looks relieved until his eyes shoot open upon realising he has dropped his suppositories down the toilet. We then get a shot of Renton from the toilet looking down just to add to that stomach-churning effect. Just when we think it can't get any worse, Renton plunges his hands into the dirty toilet water to find his suppositories, reflecting the true state of desperation he is in. There's many closeups and it's very explicit. It takes it to the extreme in every aspect. Renton begins gagging, there is excretion on his hands and the diegetic noise of him splashing around makes for a very uncomfortable experience that people who don't have a strong stomach should be weary of! As Renton attempts to get his gag reflex under control there are more awkward shots from a high angle, adding to the horrific experience.
Finally when the audience can't bare a second longer, the non-diegetic music reignites, inferring we are soon to escape! Renton begins submerging himself into the toilet. Soon after he's fully submerged and bright and vibrant colour palette is back and a very surreal and bizarre sequence unfolds. Renton swims down what looks like the ocean as mesmerising non-diegetic music plays. Renton dives down and retrieves his gleaming white suppositories.

Essentially the function of this scene is to convey escapism and the surrealist possibilities very early on in the movie, bringing these concepts to the extreme to prepare the audience. Renton is metaphorically escaping Leith and his friends at this point in the movie, yet also foreshadowing his later on more successful version of escaping. This scene provides an usual look at life and sets the bizarre tone for the rest of the movie.