One of the absolute finest performances in this movie is by Robert Carlyle, most known as a British acting coach. It's hard to explain why he's so wonderful, but I'll try. He plays the bad guy in a way that it makes you uncomfortable and scared watching him. That takes talent and it's not easy to do for any actor. Danny Boyle provides us with breathtaking camera work and has some Tarantino-ish qualities, that makes him one of the most talented filmmakers working in the independent film industry.
                                                                                              
There is a scene in which the main character, Renton, is going through withdrawal and he has a hallucination of a friend's deceased infant child crawls up on his bedroom wall and spins his head all the way around in a kind of Linda Blair Exorcist style. It's a freaky scene but it's also a carefully layered and admirable scene that proves Danny Boyle's directing talents to be most impressive. John Hodge (who writes most of Boyle's films) does a phenomenal job capturing the material from Welsh's groundbreaking and provocative novel that should have won him the Oscar in the 1997 Academy Award ceremony. The cinematography is consistently amazing but the film editing is a tad choppy.

But, that's not really something to get bent out of shape about, because the rest of the film is always engrossing especially the magnificent and extensive soundtrack including music from Blur, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop.All in all, 'Trainspotting' is an astounding indie achievement from British filmmaker Danny Boyle who also did the highly successful indie romp 'Shallow Grave' starring Ewan McGregor and the major flop 'The Beach' starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Carlyle. If you've never seen 'Trainspotting' and have a very strong stomach and an urge to see something peculiar yet brilliant, be sure to rent it your next stop at the videostore. If you've seen it and liked it enough to purchase it, be sure to get the the 2-disc special edition DVD with some excellent extras including full-length audio commentary with some insightful information. 'Trainspotting' is the film that started my love with indie cinema. Be sure you don't miss it. Grade: A

MADE MY TOP 300 LIST AT #27