Recovering heroin addict Mark Renton returns to his Edinburgh roots after 20 years living overseas, hoping to make peace with the friends he abandoned. However, starting anew proves far from easy, especially when old partner in crime Begbie escapes from prison, still brooding on Renton's betrayal. Danny Boyle's drama sequel, starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Ewen Bremner and Jonny Lee Miller.
Two decades after Trainspotting captured the zeitgeist, director Danny Boyle reassembles the cast for this sequel loosely based on Irvine Welsh's novel Porno. This time it's less about living in the moment, more about reflecting on the past. Renton (Ewan McGregor) may have asserted to "Choose life", but his life has hit a wall; his state of mind beautifully captured with a touch of slapstick when he is again introduced on the run - only now on a treadmill. Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller) ropes his old friend into a shady bit of business, psychotic Begbie (Robert Carlyle) aims to settle an old score, while Spud is still struggling with addiction. Plenty of dry humour leavens the drama, punctuated by brief pops of adrenaline-fuelled action to echo the original film, like a chase that culminates with Renton's shark-like grin over the bonnet of a car. The old soundtrack, too, is remixed with a more meditative tempo. But if the first film was an invigorating shot in the arm, this is a touching, slightly surreal nostalgia trip.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Renton | Ewan McGregor |
| Simon "Sick Boy" | Jonny Lee Miller |
| Spud | Ewen Bremner |
| Francis Begbie | Robert Carlyle |
| Veronika | Anjela Nedyalkova |
| Diane | Kelly Macdonald |
| Gail | Shirley Henderson |
| Mikey Forrester | Irvine Welsh |
| Tulloch | Gordon Kennedy |
| Renton's father | James Cosmo |
| Nurse | Katie Leung |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Danny Boyle |
