Cast fights to bring integrity to sequel
Director Boyle always wanted to do followup but was anxious to avoid ‘sequel syndrome’
Almost two decades later, Danny Boyle presents the sequel to his breakout film Trainspotting. At least we don’t have to wonder what happened to the filmmaker in between.
Boyle famously earned a best director Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire (2008). And he has shaped more than a few other Oscar-honoured movies, including 127 Hours and Steve Jobs.
Still, T2 Trainspotting was always the itch he needed to scratch. In 2009, he started pulling together the idea of reuniting the Edinburgh crew of young heroin addicts. It took a while but he finally got the job done.
Back for T2 are Rent Boy (Ewan McGregor), Begbie (Robert Carlyle), Spud (Ewen Bremner), and Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller). Returning, too, are scenes of sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll, but this time viewed through the buddies’ middle-aged haze.
The reunion begins when Rent Boy comes back to Edinburgh after a long absence. His mission is to make amends for skipping town with drug money all those years ago. Naturally, things go sideways fast.
In the middle of a global promotional tour for the sequel, Boyle, 60, offers his considered opinions:
On receiving a positive reaction to his latest Trainspotting effort after the U.K. release in January:
“I think relieved is more the word for everybody who sees it,” Boyle says.
“We certainly felt the pressure when we were setting it up because as we got into it, we realized we better not disappoint people or they will crucify us.”
On the chemistry between the returning cast:
“It was wonderful to see it again,” the director says. “And they loved it. And we began to hear their characters’ voices right away. It was amazing again. The glove was still a perfect fit.” On their energy level: “It was a buzz to see them working like that — so intense. They were on it.” On avoiding the sequel syndrome: “Yes, it was very important to us that the new film should have its own integrity,” Boyle says.
On finally agreeing to the T2 Trainspotting title:
“We didn’t want that, because we felt like the film was fighting for its own life,” he says. “There is a relationship to the first film but we didn’t think it had to be there. But we went with it.”
On how the characters continue to crash into the walls of their lives:
“They are extreme manifestations of people we might know,” Boyle says. “They are unedited and their behaviour is never tempered. You also hear the voices of people who are normally marginalized.”
On using pop and rock music to provide benchmarks for the action just like the original:
“Music does have an unpredictable power in a movie, which is almost subliminal.”
On using sequences from the first Trainspotting:
“There was a danger that it could feel like we were repeating ourselves,” Boyle says. “But we did want to use the muscle memory of the first movie.”
On the unexpected socio-political impact of the sequel:
“It does feel like they represent a generation that is wondering, ‘What’s next?’ ” Boyle says. “They are the forgotten class. They represent the people who feel like they are being ignored.”