A Case Study of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting (1996) By Lea Weller

             This case study will investigate different elements of cinematic expression including mise-en-scene. The way the settings are put together, the use of colour in setting, lighting and costume, lighting and the way lighting is used, costume and makeup and the changes in status, camera angle and position. It will also investigate the way the films soundtrack and editing work together to provide continuity and evoke emotions from the viewer and how it helps guide the viewer through time and space. It will also look at the way the narrative is put together and how it is similar and different to classic Hollywood narrative cinema.

The settings are Yellow and  green based rooms for the heroin addicts and Swanney’s flat, but the main room is washed in reds and purples. The baby’s room in greens and yellows and the hallway leading to Edinburgh is a chilly blue colour. Tommy’s flat changes throughout the film; first it is cluttered and decorated, until he becomes a heroin addict, then it is in a state of disrepair and has minimal furniture. All the addict’s flats are in this state, little decoration and little furniture. Indicating they sold their belongings to support their addiction. The heroin-free areas, the pub, Renton’s parent's house, the courtroom and Renton’s London workplace are decorated in browns and greys and are cluttered with furniture and belongings. 

The majority of colour used in the film is diegetic. Swanney’s flat has the most dramatic use of colour, the room the characters take heroin in is washed in red, indicating passion, lust and danger due to the heroin consumption, the baby’s room is yellow indicating life and health. When the baby dies it is laying on a green blanket indicating sickness and poison. The hallway leading to the outside world is blue. The chilling idea of going out into society and its conventions, this is not the life of the heroin addicts. Red, blue, green and yellow are the dominant colours in the film. Grey is also used but is primarily associated with Renton, his flat, his parent’s house. Red is the colour that is most frequently in the film. It is the dominant colour in every heroin sequence. The nightclub in Edinburgh is red based, also Diane’s coat and the interior of the taxi in this scene.

 

 The hotel room where the heroin deal takes place is painted with red doors/doorframes and skirting boards, and incorporate the other colours the film uses indicating the characters feelings yellow for sickliness, green for potential, blue for coldness and red for danger. The toilet-dive sequence uses blue, not implying peace as the music suggests but to show dissociation, the emotional numbing of being separated from the hedonistic ways of heroin. The use of shadow-play in the film usually surrounded Renton, in the scene at Swanney’s in the opening sequences of the film, when his parents tell him how disappointed they are, when Renton visits Tommy, in the scene of the discussing the heroin deal and when the deal takes place. Shadowing emphasises Renton’s feeling of isolation. Hard-lighting and keylighting is used in the film which is the catalyst for all the shadowing, an example of this is when Renton visits Tommy he sits on a chair and a distinct shadow of Renton is cast on the wall. Bordwell and Thompson state that

The key light is the primary source, providing dominant illumination and casting the strongest shadows (Bordwell and Thompson, 2004, pg 193)

The three-point lighting system applies in most of the film lighting. The lighting in Swanney’s flat had a red tint to emphasis the drug-taking. When Renton speaks to Swanney they are non-diegetically lit in red lighting representing Renton’s anger of wanting to quit heroin. Low key illumination is used in the bingo scene, when Renton goes to the bingo parlour with his parents; he has no movement and just an empty expression. The lighting illuminates his face showing his isolation from everyone there. The time lapsed photography used in the scene of the bingo parlour shows that Renton feels that this is not his lifestyle and not how he should be living.

. The colour of Renton’s clothes usually fit in with the colours of the setting, unless he is dressed in grey for example the toilet scene. The characters wear bright coloured shirts when they are together. They seem to walk in locomotion like a train, connecting it to the title of the film. The movement of the characters as Smith states

At times, with the continuous flow of pop music on the soundtrack and the various permutations of the gang in locomotion, the film seems like a pop film in which the gang have taken on the role of a pop group (leading to the exaggerated charge that the film presents ‘heroin addiction as rock ’n’ roll mythology: live fast, die young...’) (Smith, 2002, pg 14)

They also always sit in a line (at the bar); stand in a line (the train platform at the moors). The film uses costuming to show the difference in character position in Edinburgh and London. The Londoners are dressed smarter than those in Edinburgh. Renton starts to wear suits, his wardrobe dominated with browns and greys. The people in the Volcano nightclub are dressed in 1980’s clothing, showing the period the film is set, showing the characters lives progressing through decades and cultures of Britain. The make-up is distinctive, it show the stages of addiction, withdrawal, and being ‘clean’. The addicts have pale complexions with dark patches under their eyes, when the characters are off heroin they have a healthier complexion.

The cinematography of the film shows the hallucinations of Renton whilst using drugs. He sinks into the floor when he overdoses.  Two strips of carpet either side of the shot are non-diegetically added to the scene to give the impression that Renton has sunk, he does not rise out of this state until the doctor injects him with adrenaline, also the swimming scene in the toilet has surreal effects. These scenes are representative of how a heroin addict feels after a hit. The viewer is also shown the painful and scary process of withdrawal.

Trainspotting has a non-diegetic ‘whooshing’ sound throughout the film to emphasis the fast pace. Objects are amplified intentionally, such as the sound of cans opening, doors locking, drinks being sucked, to create an awareness of the objects .These sounds are used during the editing of the film to help connect different shots. In the opening scene we hear running footsteps but do not see an image, then an image of Renton and friends running away from security guards, the non-diegetic track of ‘lust for life’ by Iggy Pop plays on the soundtrack.  Sound is heightened to show themes of the film. One which includes bodily functions; Renton moans and groans when relieving himself on the toilet, when he bangs the buckets on the floor in his flat when he is trying to quit heroin. He states ‘’One bucket for urine, one for faeces, one for vomitas’’ (Renton, Trainspotting, Danny Boyle, 1996). The scene that Spud is woken up by the engine of a plane, in turn makes him realise he has soiled himself. When Renton injects the syringe into his arm, is also a good use on non-diegetic sound. The shot changes to an image of inside the syringe and a heightened sound of suction is heard. Spud sings at Tommy’s funeral (the constant ‘whooshing’ sound in the film is absent hear also so is Renton’s voice-over - fitting for a funeral silence), he also raps during his interview (under the influence of amphetamine), rhyming words like ‘pleasure’ and leisure. Renton voice-overs the majority of the film, his voice acts as a commentary of the visual sequences.

The plasticity and mobility of Renton’s voice-over is a vital part of the film’s distinctive flavour. Its lithe omnipresence is most evident in those scenes where there is a kind of ‘cross-diegetic’ interplay of dialogue. (Smith, 2002, pg 58)

Renton exists within and outside of the narrative, it centralises him in the film. The closing shots are connected together with the soundtrack ‘Born Slippy’ by Underworld. As Renton leaves the hotel room the camera pans down steps and follows him as he walks away from the camera. The shot cuts to an alley scene where the shot completely turned on its side and Renton walks past as if the camera man on the floor as Renton walks over him. This also indicates a shift in situation Renton states

The truth is that I’m a bad person, but that’s going to change, I’m going to change. This is the last of this sort of thing. I’m cleaning up and I’m moving on, going straight and choosing life. (Renton, Trainspotting, Danny Boyle, 1996)

This indicates that he is finished with the criminal and drug lifestyle. As Renton walks towards the camera his voice-over continues. Renton walks towards the camera, the shot starts to blur and eventually fades to black. The film includes ambient music for the surreal hallucination scenes, the toilet-dive scene, helps show the audience the euphoric effects of drug-taking and the image of Renton swimming through the blue water with light beaming down on him in a dream-like sequence, giving  surreal elements to the shot.

The first Britpop song played in Trainspotting ‘Sing’ by Blur was used for the repetition of the opening scene as it would have played out chronologically in the story. The opening scene uses ‘Lust for Life’ by Iggy Pop. The punk and the Britpop songs show the changes in time and cultures that the characters endure. The film goes through punk, house and rave scenes to Britpop in the 90’s. The song ‘Perfect Day’ by Lou Reed plays throughout overdose sequence and gives the audience emotional feelings and numbing feelings that Renton feels during this scene. The soundtrack supports the fast-paced montage sequence of London showing images of Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the London Tour bus. The sound of the music allows it to compress time and can speed up the film. When the last chord of the song ‘Sing’ by Blur is played Renton jumps from the top of the wall and lands in Swanney’s flat. This editing shows a jump in time.

The cinematic style of Trainspotting creates a realist film in terms of the post-industrial state of Scotland, masculinity in crisis, unemployment, with surreal elements showing the effects of heroin and the effects of withdrawal giving the fantasy genre effect. The structure of the film is non-linear; the plot starts in the middle of the story being told. Bordwell and Thompson state

A film does not just start, it begins. The opening provides a basis for what is to come and initiates us into the narrative. In some cases, the plot will seek to arouse curiosity by bringing us into a series of actions that has already started. (This is called opening in medias res, a Latin phrase meaning ‘’in the middle of things’’). (Bordwell and Thompson, 2004, pg 80)

The plot starts when Renton and friends are running. The shot changes to Renton taking heroin at Swanney’s and this is the start of the story showing the events leading up to what was shown at the start of the film. Stories being told in the dialogue of the film were shown as flashbacks or flash-forwards. Tommy later telling Renton the real events of Begbie’s story, at Tommy’s flat. Then it flashbacks again to Begbie telling the story. Like the classic Hollywood narrative the film is centred around one main character.

The classic Hollywood narrative is centred around one or two leading characters whose motivations, goals and desires form the body of the narrative. (Roberts and Wallis, 2001, pg 56)

As Roberts and Wallis state the central characters view is shown and their activities followed. This is true in the case of Renton’s voice-over introducing the characters in the film. The characters drive the story; we know the characters desires from the help of Renton’s. The soundtrack both diegetically and non-diegetically helps to guide the audience through the editing of the scenes. An example of diegetic sound connecting the images is the sound of the heightened opening of the beers cans as the shot cuts to Swanney’s flat where they have just opened beer cans. An example of non-diegetic sound is when the opening scene is repeated the soundtrack is different, instead ‘Sing’ by Blur plays, whilst the shots changes; the street, to the courtroom, to the pub after Renton’s release. Theses shots all flow together with the help of the soundtrack. The non-linear order of Trainspotting allows the audience to put together the events in chronological order. The film starts in Medias res and then flashbacks through a series of shots, Renton taking heroin, playing football with his friends. The scene cuts to where the story starts when Renton is taking heroin at Swanney’s and he talks to the ‘mother superior’ about stopping heroin.  An example of the cause an effect narrative is Tommy, he never took heroin before, he was completely against it, then when his girlfriend left him he took heroin which turned him into an addict, who contracted HIV from a dirty needle, then died.

The film is mentally subjective as we hear Renton’s thoughts through the use of voice-over. We see his hallucinations and his account of the events, although the flashbacks will be from an objective view. This extract from Bordwell and Thompson fits the way in which Trainspotting is filmed.

Narration, then, is the process by which the plot presents story information to the spectator. This process may shift between restricted and unrestricted ranges of knowledge and varying degrees of objectivity and subjectivity (Bordwell and Thompson, 2004, pg 86)

The scene when the baby is found dead is restricted. Even Renton does not tell us what is happening through his voiceover as he does not know himself; they finally see that the baby is dead. The film is restrictive in the sense that the film is from the viewpoint of one character. Trainspotting is a mixed genre film. It has elements of crime, drama, comedy, realism and fantasy. The role of authorship in this film is significant because although many people worked together on it, the original novel writer Irvine Welsh and the screenplay writer John Hodge, Danny Boyle the director still had full control of all the details.

The film uses good mise-en-scene to help guide the audience through the story and by using editing and soundtrack together helps keep the continuity of the film. Trainspotting does not have closure like the classic Hollywood narrative, it just shows Renton walking away with the money, and saying he is going to change by the use of voice-over. It does not show us he is off heroin for good and if he did ‘choose life’ as he suggests.

Bibliography

Ashby, J., and Higson, A., (2000) British Cinema: Past and Present (eds.) London: Routledge

Bordwell, D and Thompson, K (2004) Film Art: An Introduction, 7^th Ed. USA: McGraw-Hill

Dave, P., (2006) Visions of England: Class and Culture in Contemporary Cinema. United States of America: Berg

Murphy, R., (2000) British Cinema of the 90’s (ed.) London: British Film Institute

Roberts, G and Wallis, H (2001) Introducing Film. UK: Hodder Education

Smith, M., (2002) Trainspotting. London: British Film Institute

Filmography

Trainspotting (1996) Danny Boyle [FILM] UK: Channel Four Films

 By Lea Weller