Trainspotting

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Trainspotting

R

1996

1h 34m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

98 Reviews

93%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends -- Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows.

Critics Consensus

A brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction in Edinburgh. Not for the faint of heart, but well worth viewing as a realistic and entertaining reminder of the horrors of drug use.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

05/29/2024

5/5

Easy to start, all-consuming, impossible to quit.

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Jay Carr

Boston Globe

05/01/2024

The unsinkable vigor coursing through the veins of Trainspotting leaves no doubt that it intends to come down on the side of life. In its chance-taking, its virtuosity and its ultimate morality, it's an exhilarating film.

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Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

05/01/2024

3.5/4

Choose Trainspotting... if you think you can take it.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Aug 16

8/10

Rewatching Trainspotting after almost 30 years, it’s as funny and awful as I remember...

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Nicolás Medina

Peliplat

May 10

10/10

The addictions of each of the characters are nothing more than a kind of desperate cry in the face of the uniformity of a decade that, although its montage seems prosperous and pleasant, is nothing more than theatrical and hollow. [Full review in Spanish]

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

01/22/2025

Unlike most generational touchstones about alienated young people, Trainspotting has its cake and eats it, too. It gets to be ruthlessly clever about the emptiness of workaday jobs and lifestyle creep while finding the rebellion far more self-destructive.

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Rob G

@Googanaba 3d

Ugh, this movie was hard to watch. Can't believe I missed it in the 90s with all the hype but this was not a good movie. The characters were all horrible people and they went through disgusting things. The only redeeming quality is it will prevent anyone watching from ever doing heroin. Oh, and it did introduce Kelly Macdonald to the world (best voice in Hollywood).

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Movie M

@MovieMinds_ENG Mar 27

Trainspotting and how its not about spottings trains at all: Trainspotting is a film whose title means more than just "watching trains" — it likely refers to "track marks," the needle scars from heroin use. It’s based on the 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh, written in Scottish dialect, which makes it challenging but very authentic. Directed by Danny Boyle, the 1996 film follows Mark Renton and his friends in a bleak 1980s Edinburgh, shaped by drugs, alcohol, and violence. Begbie stands out as a particularly aggressive antagonist. The film’s strengths include its energetic soundtrack (featuring Blur, Pulp, and Underworld) and its striking, sometimes surreal visuals. Despite its dark humor, it offers a powerful portrayal of addiction’s destructive nature — making it both entertaining and a strong warning against heroin use.

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Steven F.

@SteveGotScored Feb 23

Literally one of my favorite movies ever!

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Christian F.

@thefalcon11 Feb 16

Danny Boyle’s masterpiece. Beautifully shot. Mixing the grim reality and darkness of drug addiction with comedic gold. Well paced and wildly entertaining.

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James H.

@420Drive-in Jan 23

This movie hits the ground running through friendship, addiction, crime and absolute despair. This isn't just a movie, this is an experience and meant to be seen. Danny Boyle's as director is firing on all cylinders providing you with a truly groundbreaking film experience.

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Kevin M.

@kevostyle Nov 24

Such a realistic, version of the toxic lives some of us have experienced. Classic.

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Danny Boyle

Director

Ewan McGregor

Mark "Rent-boy" Renton

Ewen Bremner

Daniel "Spud" Murphy

Jonny Lee Miller

Simon David "Sick Boy" Williamson

Kevin McKidd

Tommy MacKenzie

Robert Carlyle

Francis (Franco) Begbie

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Synopsis

Heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends -- Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner) and Tommy (Kevin McKidd). He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane (Kelly Macdonald), along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind when Begbie shows up at his front door on the lam, and a scheming Sick Boy follows.

Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Andrew Macdonald
Screenwriter: John Hodge
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Figment Films, Noel Gay Motion Picture Company, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating: R (Nudity|Graphic Heroin Use|Sex|Some Violence|Strong Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 19, 1996, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.6M
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Stereo, Surround, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)