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Nostalgia – That’s Why You’re Here

by Christopher Best

It has been over 20 years since the 1996 film adaptation of Scottish author Irvine Welsh’s “Trainspotting” hit theaters to the praise of audiences and critics alike. The groundbreaking, darkly funny and surprisingly upbeat film about a group of twenty-something heroin addicts helped launch the careers of many members of its cast and crew including director Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “127 Hours”) and lead actor Ewan McGregor (“Moulin Rouge!”, “Star Wars Episode III”) both of whom were relatively unheard of at the time. A sequel to the film has been discussed ever since Irvine Welsh (who also cameos as smack dealer Mikey Forrester in both the original film and its sequel) penned a sequel novel “Porno” in 2002. Script issues as well as a falling out between Boyle and McGregor stalled production until early last year when the heavens aligned for “Trainspotting” fans and principal photography for the long awaited sequel began.

The awkwardly titled “T2 Trainspotting” primarily focuses on the contemporary lives of the four former friends Mark “Rent Boy” Renton (McGregor), Simon “Sick Boy” Williamson (Jonny Lee Miller), Damien “Spud” Murphy (Ewen Bremner) and Francis “Franco” Begbie (Robert Carlyle), 20 years after the infamous drug deal that concluded the original film.

“Nostalgia – that’s why you’re here,” says Sick Boy at one point in the film. “You’re a tourist in your own youth.”

Though this accusation is aimed at Renton, it could just as easily be spoken directly to the audience. This sequel is clearly intended as a love letter to “Trainspotting” fans, eager to revisit the world of a film that may have defined their youth. “T2” is full of callbacks to the original which are sure to please this audience, including an updated “choose life” monologue and numerous other nods to its predecessor (at one point Renton pointedly avoids a disgusting public toilet, a reference to the original film’s “worst toilet in Scotland” scene).

Echoes to the past are shown through short sporadic flashbacks, some of which come in the form of clips from the original film, executed by Boyle (mostly) to great effect, while others feature newly shot footage, including a scene featuring Begbie’s father taken straight from the “Trainspotting” novel and from which the film takes its name.

These new scenes work more often than not, though they tread a fine line to being overdone.

While there is a fair amount of looking to the past, “T2” remains fresh enough to make it worthwhile; it manages to avoid the trap that too many recent sequels have fallen into of retreading the original film’s plot with minor updates. “Choose life,” a theme echoed throughout “Trainspotting,” takes on a new meaning in the sequel as the aging man-children grapple with their own mortalities and what it means to truly be alive.

“First there’s an opportunity; then there’s a betrayal.”

This becomes Spud’s mantra in the final act of “T2,” and it is hard not to apply it to the movie as a whole. Though the film begins with much promise, these final scenes drag and feel cumbersome at times. It is hard not to feel like everything wraps up a little too nicely at the end of this sequel to a film full of addiction, HIV and death.
That said, it is a real thrill to see all of the original actors back in character once again. Though 20 years has aged the cast noticeably, all four of the primary cast members have slipped back into their beloved characters as if no time passed at all. A cameo appearance by Kelly Macdonald as the now matured and successful Diane is easily a highlight of the film, leaving audiences to wonder why there was not a more significant role for her in this sequel.

Overall, “T2” is a worthwhile followup to its predecessor, though much like what has been said of heroin, it is impossible to beat the first hit. If nothing else, the sequel serves as a great excuse for fans to go back and re-watch the incredible, groundbreaking piece of cinema that is “Trainspotting.”

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