GQ_Australia_-_February_2017

FEBRUARY 2017GQ.COM.AU 97

Edinburgh’s Princes Street to Iggy Pop’s

thrusting ‘Lust For Life’.

“Chooselife.Chooseajob.Choosea

career.Chooseafamily.Chooseafuckingbig

television. Choose washing machines, cars,

compactdiscplayersandelectricaltincan

openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol

and dentali urance.Choosefixed-interest

mortga men hoose astarter

home. hoo you friends. Choose

leisurewear matchi uggage.Choose a

three-pi uiteon hir urchaseinarange

of fu fbics. oose DIY and

wonde efuc uareonaSunday

morning. Choose sitting on that couch

watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing

game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into

your mouth,” rants Renton.

“ButwhywouldIwanttodoathinglike

that? I chose not to choose life – I chose

something else.”

Thatchoiceisheroin,thefilmanacerbic

and tragic play to the life of these Scottish

“Ifafilmisgooditwillstandthetestoftime,

whatever it’s about. You know, whether it’s

The Godfather,orStar Wars, or, well,

Trai n s pot t i ng.”

Jonny Lee Miller’s right. Though he’s also

quicktocheckhiswords.

“IknowthatsoundedlikeI’vegotreally

grand,lumpingitinwithlegendarymovies

like that, but it’s true. If a movie’s good, it’ll

stand up.”

Standitdoes–theoriginalDannyBoyle

pieceaserectasthedisposableneedlethat

piercednotonlytheveinsofthemordant

Scottishjunkiesittrailed,butthecultureof

thetime.Itaskedquestions.Itprompted

thought. It explored rebellion. It stuck. It

stuckhard.Anditstilldoes.

Trai n s pot t i nggrabs audiences from the get-

go.WithEwanMcGregor’sRentonas

narrator, the over-quoted opening soliloquy

careensintotheaudiencemuchlikethedebut

introduction to Renton and Spud (Ewan

Bremner), stumbling as they do along

STAN SMITHS, GAZELLES,
BUCKET HATS, ALEXANDER
MCQUEEN, RAVES, OASIS,
BLUR, PULP, TONY BLAIR,
DAMIEN HIRST, KATE MOSS,
NAOMI CAMPBELL, ECSTACY
–ANDTRAINSPOTTING.NOW,
TWO DECADES ON FROM THE
MOVIE THAT DEFINED THE
HELL-RAISING ‘WE-DON’T-
GIVE-A-FUCK’ SPIRIT OF
MID-NINETIES BRITAIN,
JONNY LEE MILLER TALKS
ABOUT ITS LEGACY, AS GQ
WONDERS WHETHER THE
SEQUEL, OUT NEXT MONTH,
CANPOSSIBLYCAPTURETHE
ORIGINAL’S POTENT SPIRIT.