Set in 1980’s Edinburgh, Scotland, Danny Boyle’s ‘Trainspotting’ (1996), brings musical dissonance to the film, as the storyline carries a pure lack of harmony yet relayed with many musical tones. Originally adapted from Irvine Welsh’s novel in 1993, the story revolves around a close-knit family of gritty Scottish junkies whose lifestyle is designated towards resisting to the conformance of society through the extended reality of heroin.

Mark Renton, the voice of sanity amongst his friends, decides to start relinquishing heroin in order to save his own life. The inevitable choice of adhering to specific societal standards came into play for Mark as a real estate agent for flats in London.

““People think it’s all about misery and desperation and death and all that shit, which is not to be ignored. But what they forget is the pleasure of it. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it. After all, we’re not fucking stupid. At least, we’re not that fucking stupid…””

— Mark Renton

““Take the best orgasm you ever had, multiply it by a thousand and you’re still nowhere near it. When you’re on junk you have only one worry: scoring. When you’re off it you are suddenly obliged to worry about all sorts of other shite. Got no money: can’t get pissed. Got money: drinking too much. Can’t get a bird: no chance of a ride. Got a bird: too much hassle. You have to worry about bills, about food, about some football team that never fucking wins, about human relationships and all the things that really don’t matter when you’ve got a sincere and truthful junk habit.””

— Mark Renton

Endlessly counting the trains that pass by, making an exciting game out of the dullest activities, ‘Trainspotting’, serves as a relevant metaphor to the story, signifying the addictive and compulsive behaviors within the characters that are constantly in a rush due to their phobia of boredom that would manifest itself through the dull life of sobriety.

““Personality, I mean that’s what counts, right? That’s what keeps a relationship going through the years. Like heroin, I mean heroin’s got a great fucking personality.””

— Sick Boy

““Keep on going, getting up, going out, robbing, stealing, fucking people over. Propelling ourselves with longing towards the day that it would all go wrong, because no matter how much you stash, or how much you steal you never have enough. No matter how often you go out and rob and fuck people over, you always need to get up and do it all over again.””

— Mark Renton