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By George Haigh

When the tickets went on sale for a screening of T2: Trainspotting, followed by a Q&A with renowned director Danny Boyle, at HOME, Manchester, the demand was unprecedented. Three separate screenings were planned for the sold out event, with terrific organisation from everybody involved, particularly HOME’s Jason Wood, who hosted the event excellently. A Patron of HOME, Boyle’s return to his Manchester foundations seemed to provide a huge amount of excitement for the anticipated sequel. Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie return to the big screen, recapturing the energy and bravura of the iconic 1996 film, sharing similar ideas but approaching the characters differently.

20 years after betraying his best mates and ‘choosing life’, Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to a much-changed Edinburgh, one that he barely recognises. Jason and Danny Boyle were keen to talk about how the film comments on Neo-Conservatism changes such as gentrification and austerity in Edinburgh, an insightful observation to how the city is shot with a keen eye for detail and physicality. The cinematography from Anthony Dod Mantle maintains a gritty blend of Ken Loach-esque kitchen sink realism and the hedonistic vibrancy of Terry Gilliam. Boyle discussed the “heightened realism” that the characters live in, but was keen to consider how, much like in the first film, there is an authentic sense of friendship and adulthood. Significantly, there is no voiceover from Renton this time around, and the direction the film takes ensures that the story is as much about Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie.

Spud (Ewan Bremner) triumphs as the film’s unsung hero, despite still struggling with his addiction to heroin. Bremner grasps this role with such affection and charisma, embodying a sort of metafictional Irvine Welsh as the unconventional storyteller of debauchery. Sick Boy (Johnny Lee Miller) is running a sex-tape scandal, wretched with anger at his shortcomings after Renton slipped through the fingers of himself and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). In the Q&A session, Boyle mentioned the “destructiveness” that is rooted in the bond of these characters, and this destruction is embodied no more clearly than in Begbie. Somehow more terrifying than he was 20 years ago, Begbie’s inadequacy is now reflected through his role as a father, which gives the character more emotional depth, glimpsed at through a terrific flashback scene which confirms that the term ‘Trainspotting’ isn’t just some sort of euphemism for recreational drug use.

The flashback scene works perfectly in how it functions not just as a nostalgic throwback to past glory, but how it manoeuvres certain commentary on age, change and the inevitable disappointment of the characters’ mid-life crisis. At the start of the Q&A, Boyle talked about how the script he and John Hodge wrote felt instantly as though it was “about something.” If the first film was about youth and masculinity, then this time around we’re in similar thematic territory, albeit in much more contemporary circumstances.

There are, of course, similarities in T2 to the original Trainspotting, some acutely subtle and some quite heavy handed. The call-backs to the opening drums of Trainspotting classics such as ‘Lust for Life’ and the resonance of the ‘Perfect Day’ chords are delivered with absolute delicacy. Of course, Danny Boyle was questioned about the film’s iconic soundtrack, but also mentioned the David Bowie reference in Renton’s bedroom scene. There is a clever glimpse at the sleeve of ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ which Boyle talked about with an appreciation of Bowie’s music and status as a film lover. Again, Danny Boyle has showcased his passion for music, opting for more modern sounds of Wolf Alice and The Young Fathers, which are aesthetically pleasing and tonally rewarding.

It’s clear then, that the film succeeds because of how it coexists on its own merit, and as a fitting sequel to the first one. T2, however, does have its flaws, which become more noticeable as the narrative progresses, particularly through the character of Veronika (Anjela Nedyalkova), who doesn’t serve much more than a plot device with a hardly believable connection to Sick Boy and, then, Renton.

There are other mis-steps in the script too, such as the ‘no more catholics’ sequence which felt overblown, both in its commentary and execution. Although problematic, these issues are easy to look past, and, ultimately, it is great to see the familiar faces on screen, who are given plenty of opportunities to develop. The ending is one of the most distinctive closures to a film in recent memory.

Danny Boyle, who showcased himself as one of Britain’s most honest and pragmatic filmmakers, seemed somewhat hesitant when questioned over the possibility of a ‘Trainspotting 3’, seemingly aware that a new chapter might pose the threat of tarnishing the reputation of the first film – something T2 successfully avoids doing.

George Haigh is a third year film and media student. George contributes freelance film features, and also edits content for Humanity Hallows.