5 Best British Films Of The Past 20 Years

2. Trainspotting

Director: Danny Boyle What is it about? Trainspotting focuses on the life of Mark Renton, a young man from a downtrodden forgotten part of 1980€™s Edinburgh. Renton is, like most of his friends, a heroin addict who uses the drug in order to escape the banality of his everyday life. However after a particularly bad trip Renton decides that he needs to quit the nightmare of heroin and go clean. This proves easier said than done as the normality of everyday life leaves him numb and depressed and it is not long before he delves back into the world he was so desperate to leave behind. It is at this point that things begin to deteriorate rapidly with tragic consequences for the group yet circumstances hand Renton one final opportunity to escape the hell of addiction and choose the life he used to be so adamant he didn€™t want. Why is it great? There has never been a film about drugs quite like Trainspotting. Danny Boyle€™s film, rather than negatively portray the whole drug taking experience, actually glorifies it in parts describing its intense pleasure and its ability to let you leave mundane everyday life behind. Ultimately we all know where heroin use eventually leads but in Trainspotting we see the highs along the way. Make no mistake, however, this is not a pro drug movie as some have suggested - it is merely a balanced approach to a controversial topic.The effects of heroin addiction are here in shocking detail yet in the midst of it all there are some genuinely funny, touching moments. The film, like the drug induced trips of those within it, is full of highs and lows, laughter and tears, ecstasy and despair and life and death. It is the rawest, realest drugs movie ever made and for that reason deserves its place in British film history. Final Thought A powerfully disturbing take on the nature addiction and a vivid portrayal of those caught within its grip, Trainspotting was a breakthrough British film and one which helped to start the golden era of British cinema we currently find ourselves in. http://youtu.be/troBCR2VN4M