For all that the characters of Trainspotting lurked on the perilous fringes, they were at least young enough for the slogan “choose life” to be an option. In Irvine Welsh’s 2002 sequel, Renton, Sickboy, Begbie and Spud return 15 years older and it is with a sense of alarm to find them still standing. Only Tommy is absent, his Aids-related death having brought a bitter realism to the original novel.
And what a rough lot they are in Davie Carswell’s adaptation directed by Felix O’Brien. Chris Gavin’s Begbie, finishing the end of a spell in Saughton for manslaughter, is now furious as well as unforgiving. Kevin Murphy’s Spud, bald and bearded, has added an edge of despair to his puppyish charm; his entrance begging for money is chillingly believable.
