Addiction: Heroin What To Say: Choose life What Not To Say: Choose a f*cking big television In a landscape of poverty, unemployment and an uncaring Prime Minister in Downing Street, the futures of a whole generation of Scottish youth looks bleak. These are the conditions which Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and friends find themselves in Danny Boyles adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel Trainspotting. Their escape from post-Thatcher Britain? Heroin. In a film full of fantastic performances and depictions of addiction, Ewan McGregors Renton stands out the most. The charisma of McGregor makes this repulsive, scheming junkie who steals from his friends and family thoroughly charming and his portrayal of heroin addiction is completely believable and convincing. To prepare for his role, Ewan McGregor lost almost 30lbs and spent time with recovering addicts from the Calton Athletic Recovery Group. He also practiced cooking-up, albeit substituting heroin for glucose powder, to ensure he looked the part of an experienced junkie. From the day to day scams to raise funds for more junk, to the horror of his cold-turkey hallucinations to the dead-eyed betrayal of his so-called mates, Renton perfectly encapsulates the qualities of a junkie so convincingly you cant help but think there must be a little Mark Renton in every addict on the planet.
