Trainspotting Opening Analysis

 In the opening scene of Trainspotting, there is around one second of quiet, before Renton and Spud run into frame. The camera is on the floor in this shot, showing nothing but their legs, showing as much movement as possible, bringing an abrupt end to this second of peace. As soon as Renton and Spud enter the frame, Lust for Life by Iggy Pop begins to play, with the boisterous opening drums intensifying the abrupt end to the peace. Renton starts his monologue, stating "Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a family. etc." This implies that Renton is mocking the capitalist idea that they can achieve anything, as this film is set in Thatcher's Britain, which was responsible for one of the largest class divides in British history, especially in Glasgow; leading to many of the crises in the film.   As this monologue begins, the camera pans up to reveal that Renton and Spud are running from security guards, further revealing the anarchic spirit of both the characters of Renton and Spud and also the film itself. Eventually, Renton is hit by a car. He gets up and leans on the bonnet of the car, we see this from the point of view of the driver, as he stares at the driver to intimidate them, and in the process of this, the audience. However, rather than displaying the expected reaction of anger, he begins to laugh, showing that he is carefree, while text appears on the screen, showing his name alongside a freeze frame of his laughter, internalising this side of his character into the audience. 

After a shot of Renton smoking, in which he falls to the ground, there is a cut to a football game. The team that the main characters are facing are all wearing a professional, uniform kit, while the main characters of the film, that with the exception of Renton we do not yet know much about, are all wearing different clothes, with each of their clothes looking tattered and worn. This tells us that they could not afford a kit, furthering the themes of class inequality, but also symbolises the lack of unity between these characters, as we learn later on about some of their conflicts, differences in character, their individual selfishness and willingness to backstab each other. Throughout the football game, we are introducing to each of the other characters with the same text and freeze frame that we had for Renton, telling us a lot about their individual personalities as well; Sick Boy and Begbie are aggressive and angry, Spud is clumsy and Tommy is backed into a corner, foreshadowing of his fate later in the film. After the football game, the film cuts back to the same shot of Renton smoking, to symbolise the frequency of his substance abuse.