T2: Trainspotting. I hardly know where to begin. What an extraordinary film. I laughed till my sides hurt, and cried so many tears that it could have filled my popcorn bucket. Absolutely amazing. If a film has been made that explores memory and ageing, friendship and betrayal in such a moving and profound way, then I believe I have yet to see it. There are some astonishing acting performances throughout. Jonny Lee Miller's Simon, Ewan McGregor, of course, and a truly terrifying Robert Carlyle as Begbie. But Ewen Bremner as Spud...what a majestic performance. He really does steal the show with a humorous, powerful, and incredibly moving portrayal of the junkie desperately trying to break the habit and build a life that includes his wife and son. Mark Kermode recently described T2: Trainspotting as a visionary film, and I couldn't agree with him more. Even Edinburgh and the Scottish mountains almost steal the film thanks to some absolutely breath-taking cinematography. And the new "choose life" scene was like a Shakespearean monologue on the bullshit and ills that surround us in the 21st century, each word like a perfectly aimed dagger thrust to the heart and mind. Oh...and the music, as expected, is perfectly chosen and backdrops the film so effortlessly you almost forget you are listening to a soundtrack.
It certainly hasn't escaped my awareness that it's incredibly surprising that I have been so intensely moved and affected by this film, as the original Trainspotting was a film I positively disliked when I first saw it. Much of that was because of where I was personally at that time, and also because of acquaintances of mine who acted in very similar, deplorable ways as some of the characters at their very worst, and they used the film to then legitimise their behaviour in a very unsavoury way. This just makes it all the more astounding that T2: Trainspotting has completely won my heart, and had done so before the opening credits had even finished rolling.
"Here comes Johnny Yen again...
I've got a lust for life..."
