8 Things You Learn Re-Watching Trainspotting
7. The Football Match Is A Genious Piece Of Character Introduction
After the famous "Choose..." monologue and the chase down Princes Street, Renton's narration takes the audience to a five-a-side football match where they're introduced to each of the supporting cast.
The line in John Hodge's script begins:
As each performs a characteristic bit of play...
Those characteristic bits of play being:
Begbie - the psychotic and ultra-violent radge - flying into a challenge like he's playing prison rules, before leaping up with every intention of carrying on the scrap.
Sick-Boy - who has the ingratiating ability to be both supercilious sycophant and loveable junky - leaving a sly foot in on his opposite number and then quickly moving to deny any wrongdoing.
Spud - weak-willed and impressionable - cowering out of the way of an in-coming shot as he's forced to play between the sticks - the position any park-kickabout regulars will note is usually reserved for the group lackey.
And Tommy - perhaps most subtly - who goes to kick the ball as hard as he can, perfectly symbolizing his all-or-nothing - and ultimately fateful -approach to life and drugs.
When you have a number of characters to make known and a fast-paced script that doesn't allow time for indulgent introductions, a well-crafted scene such as this tells all the story you need it to.