"Who Need Reasons When You've Got Heroin? "

I have been lazy and didn't write the 'Trainspotting' review until now. I can't say I thought up all the material on my own. Thank you IMDB for refreshing my memory of the plot.

Mark "Rent Boy" Renton played by Ewan McGregor is a young Edinburgh heroin addict trying to kick the nasty habit. The only problem? His friends, his job and his desire for "one last hit" keep him injecting the needle. Along with his friends, he is trapped in an urban underworld of despair.

His family tries to keep him clean, resulting in house arrest against his will. Even though his struggles and friends bring him back into a fantasy world, Mark always is looking to make something more of himself, other than a junkie.

With that in mind, Mark sets out for London to make his fortune, and at first he does well - he successfully gets a job in a property lettings agency and starts to pursue his new life. However, his old friends won't leave him alone.

First to arrive from Edinburgh is violent alcoholic Begbie, who is on the run after an armed robbery gone wrong. Soon Mark realizes that his old life is going to be hard to leave behind.

When the possibility of a major heroin deal tempts the others, Mark finds it impossible to isolate himself from his friends. As he is the only one of the group they all trust to test the drugs, he is also going to have to face temptation again, the hard way.

Based on the 1993 Irvine Welsh novel of the same name, 'Trainspotting' is a gritty, realistic look at the world of the urban drug addict. Although the subject matter could be off-putting, in this film it is handled with surprising sensitivity, neither glamorizing drug use nor condemning it.

Instead of being a film about drugs, it is really about the characters, all of which are fully developed and extremely well played by an outstanding cast. Young Ewan McGregor shows astonishing emotional depth in this, the breakthrough role that possibly made him the actor he is today.

The look of the film, and its direction, perfectly portray both the gritty reality of addiction and the surreal aspects of an addict's life.

I know it took a while for me to review this movie, but I liked it a lot and think most people (18 years and older) would to. I am going to add it to my movie collection. Definitely worth seeing, just not with your mother or on a first date.

Verdict: (4 of 5 stars)