Trainspotting

Dir. Danny Boyle · UK, United Kingdom · English

6.9 Our score

1996 Movie Crime, Drama

Queue Seen Love Hide

Our take

Renton (McGregor), a Scottish twenty-something junkie, must choose to clean up and get out, or continue following the allure of the drugs and the influence of friends. Find out if he chooses life in this brutal yet entertaining Danny Boyle masterpiece. While definitely not for the faint of heart, Trainspotting still manages to be funny at times, and provides an overall very entertaining experience.

Streaming arrival

PlexJul 20, 2026
Pluto TVMay 20, 2025
KanopyMay 20, 2025
PeacockApr 12, 2025
FuboMar 25, 2025
Prime VideoSep 12, 2024
ShowtimeJul 3, 2023
StarzAug 1, 2022
The Roku ChannelSep 3, 2021

What it won

Awards

Oscars

1 nom

Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay

Cannes

1 nom

Nominated: Official Selection

BAFTA

3 wins · 6 noms

Won: Best Screenplay (Adapted)Won: Adapted ScreenplayNominated: Best ActorWon: Best Feature FilmNominated: Alexander Korda Award for Best British FilmNominated: Best ActorNominated: Best ActressNominated: Best WriterNominated: Outstanding British Film of the Year

Spirit Awards

1 nom

Nominated: Best Foreign Film

WGA

1 nom

Nominated: Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (Screen)

Nat. Board of Review

1 win

Won: Top Ten Films

The story

What happens

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

Elsewhere