“This is the beginning of the end” - Individual Remembering and Nostalgia in T2 Trainspotting     Boglarka Toth College

When the first cinematic instalment of Trainspotting came out in 1996, certainly nobody in the production crew expected it to become an instantly huge success in Great Britain and, not long after the premiere, worldwide as well. The now iconic film, based on Irvine Welsh’s novel with the same title, effectively addressed several crucial issues of its time, especially the hopelessness and lack of connectivity experienced by the young adult generation of Scotland. All of these complicated matters are cleverly wrapped up in the framework of a scandalously realistic depiction of drug addiction that is seriously influencing the lives of the main characters and their relationships with each other. After twenty-one years, in 2017, T2 Trainspotting is dealing with slightly different problems: the central theme attempts to depict how a person’s relation to their past defines personal nostalgia, prevents them from moving on and hinders the process of forgiving. The main characters, Renton, Spud, Simon and Begbie, all carry certain old hardships with them that shape the narrative since their approach to their own past selves and grudges is what pushes the story forward. The second film also visualises their present struggles differently...