British Cinema Exam Question

In the second to last scene from Trainspotting; Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie are in a bar; celebrating their successful drug deal and the money they acquired from it. Due to his anger issues that are consistently shown throughout the film, after bumping into a man and spilling some beer,  Begbie begins to argue with, and eventually starts to attack him, bloodying him and severely injuring him in the process. During this, Sick Boy and Spud try to intervene, but he continues to act the same way towards them, questioning their friendship, as up to this point, we have only seen Begbie use intimidation to get what he wants from them. Throughout this, we get intimate close-ups of Renton looking at the bag, with the other three being nothing but silhouettes in the background, and their arguments sound like they are much further in the distance than they are. This suggests not only that Renton has an opportunity and take the money for himself, but also his emotional distance from the others at this point in the film. He is sick of their antics and the way that they hold him down, and needs to break away from this lifestyle before it potentially kills him. Begbie eventually calls over Renton, asking him to bring him a cigarette in an aggressive manner, meaning Renton has missed his opportunity to escape. Renton hesitantly does so, and they both begin to smoke. Only the silhouettes of their faces are seen, highlighting the distance in their relationship at this point, perhaps suggesting that they barely recognise each other anymore. The closeness of their faces and the silence that they smoke in builds further tension between the characters, hinting either at Begbie's knowledge that Renton is considering running away, or Renton's paranoia that this is the case. Begbie blowing smoke into Renton's face shows us his lack of respect for him.  In the next and final scene in the hotel room, as everyone is asleep, Renton makes sure of this before sneaking away with the money. But before he does this, he prepares by looking at himself in the mirror, reflecting on what he was, what he has become and what he hopes to become in the future. He pours away a glass of whiskey and fills it with water, symbolising him leaving a life of addiction behind him, and starting a much more healthy lifestyle. After obtaining the bag of money and reaching the door, he looks over the room to make sure everyone is asleep; Begbie and Sick Boy are, but this awoke Spud, who looks betrayed, confused and upset. Begbie shakes his head, as if telling Renton not to do it, but Renton nods and leaves. In the monologue following this, Renton admits that despite trying to justify it to himself, he has "ripped them off", and admits his guilt for leaving Spud, but believes that Begbie deserves it and that Sick Boy would have done it first if he thought of it sooner, after this he also says that he is a bad person for doing this. Though to atone for this, he leaves Spud his share. Despite the fact Renton believes himself to be a bad person for his actions, he has finally taken control of his life, and says that this is going to change. He smiles as he walks towards the camera, as the camera loses focus; I interpret this as meaning that while he is entering a life of uncertainty that he has never known before, he does so with optimism. He recites the "choose life" monologue from the opening of the film, though this time, instead of mocking it and favouring a self-destructive lifestyle, he takes himself seriously, and truly believes he can build a better life for himself. 

While the ending of Trainspotting focuses on the abrupt but necessary ending of relationships for the betterment of self, the ending of Shaun of the Dead focuses on rekindling them and gaining closure, making them polar opposites in this regard. In the basement scene of Shaun of the Dead; Shaun, Liz and Ed escape to the basement with nowhere else to go, submitting to the fact that they will die. Shaun begins to cry at the fact that he was not able to save anyone, and mocking his own idea of going to the Winchester. Liz comfort him by saying that "at least he tried." As Ed has already been bitten, the two contemplate suicide with the two remaining bullets before the zombies get in. When Liz tells Shaun to shoot her before shooting himself, Shaun remarks that he "doesn't have it in him to shoot his flatmate, his mum and his girlfriend all in the same evening". Liz points out his assumption that they have gotten back together, though the audience had already assumed this as well, forgetting this had not yet been confirmed. Shaun tells her that he's changed, bringing up the point that he had given up smoking, to which she reveals that she had smoked secretly, showing that she is not perfect either, and the compromise between the two may be easier than both Shaun and the audience once thought. However, when they go to light a cigarette, they notice a button to a keg lift that leads outside. Shaun tells Ed to come with them, but Ed refuses, knowing he will soon become a zombie, and not wanting to be deadweight to Shaun and Liz, or hold them back, he tells Shaun he and Liz "should make a go of it". Shaun and Ed say goodbye and make amends with each other, and Shaun and Liz are rescued by the army; similarly to Renton from Trainspotting, heading into a life of uncertainty, but potentially for the better. However, unlike the ending of Trainspotting, we see a glimpse of Shaun and Liz's new life. We see Shaun's new life as mirroring his life when living with Ed, but in a much cleaner, mature, and socially respectable  environment. It is then revealed that Ed, despite being a zombie, now lives in Shaun's shed, and they still have a close friendship, as the film ends with them playing video games together, just like one of the beginning scenes of the film, which shows the audience that, despite the changes to Shaun's lifestyle, he has not abandoned that part of himself.