Trainspotting Clip Analyse

Trainspotting Clip Analyse

43 to 48 minutes in the film

"Renton's Last Hit"

In this clip M.E.S (Mise en Scene) is used to show inescapable cycle of addiction as he is shown as being in high key light which is often used to show positive emotions in films for example Bruce Almighty (2003) which uses high key lighting to project a light hearted and happy tone in the film due to its comedy genre. But possible this high key light becomes false because this film uses some social realistic conventions to convey Thatchers Britain which means it wouldn't follow these common troupes/conventions of the lighting conveying a characters happiness and that Renton is just as lost and damaged in the light as he is in the dark.

As he climbs on the wall to escape his family and friends with the sky above him he then jumps back into his old drug filled life as the scene jump cuts from him dropping off the wall and straight into mother superiors drug den which has low key red light which both shows a contrast from the last scene as he is free and full of life due to the background being the sky and calming surroundings to him being crouched almost like an animal in a dark and dingy building like an animal and the red light also implies danger due to the colour being a common convention warning both in real life and films, this colour also gives mother superior the appearance of the devil as he has red light behind him as he deals drugs to Renton, almost like Renton is selling his soul to the devil as this drug destroys his life.

Camera is used in this sequence to give the audience a insight into Rentons overdose experience as it cuts to a extreme closeup of the Drugs going into Rentons system as we become the inside of the syringe as it enters his bloodstream which is similar imagery to that of a sewer drain possible implying how it is poisoning his body with this use of prop. This insight is also shown with the P.O.V from Rentons perspective as he sinks into the carpet adding a personal/intimate connection with the audience as we become Renton and see what he sees, the carpet is viewed visible throughout all of the P.O.V shots in the sequence showing how he is trapped in the carpet and can't get out as it consumes his vision/perspective of the world possible a metaphor for how Rentons reliance on drugs and how it has changed his view of the world literally.

Editing is used in this film to ground the film in reality and the harsh world are characters live in it does this by having a cross cutting shot of a speeding ambulance and mother superior helping Renton out of his drug den implying that the ambulance is coming for Renton however the audience is grounded in realism and grit as the scenes combine and the ambulance passes by Renton lying in the street as a taxi pulls up to get him instead of emergency services showing both how the system has failed him as it literally passes him by but also how toxic his environment is as his "friend" calls a taxi instead of an ambulance to save his life. However despite this cross cutting of two scenes shows a lack of human decency on Mother Superiors part he pays the cab driver more than Renton paid for drugs so this instills doubt of Mother Superior being a bad person because instead of leaving Renton and saving the money he just got from him he spends it to save his life so maybe he isn't a bad person but a product of Margret Thatchers Britain and he has no choice buy to these vile acts to keep going in this world of harsh taxes and high unemployment maybe he is just a good guy surrounded by no options.

Sound in this clip is used to demonstrate Rentons bliss and the effect drugs have on him as an escape from his dull life. The song "Perfect Day - Lou Reed" which is chosen implies that this is a perfect day for Renton despite the fact he has overdosed making it obvious that Renton relies on the drug to cope in his life in order for it to be a "perfect day" and the lyrics "keeps me hanging on" which implies that Renton is "hanging on" to his life because of his drugs and that his life is for drugs not to live. Narration is also used by Renton as he describes his life without drugs in a negative tone also insinuating his desperation and need for Heroin as he has "shivers down his spine" as he waits for his next hit. This could also link to the context of the film as he uses drugs to escape from the poverty and crime ridden UK and thats why the perfect as he doesn't see the faults in society.