Sebastian Mann

Director Danny Boyle delivers what it is easily one of the better sequels of recent memory.

It may seem an odd choice to return to the world of Trainspotting twenty-one years after the fact, but Danny Boyle’s seemingly backwards-named sequel is a lot of things, and ‘unnecessary’ is not one of them.

Naturally, the question arises: is T2 Trainspotting a worthwhile sequel, and is it a worthwhile watch? Yes. To both.

It’s best to go into T2 fresh from having just seen the original in order to get the most out of it. This review will work under the pretence that the reader knows the fate of the characters as far as the original goes – so be warned.

Having finally escaped the filthy, post-punk cesspool of heroin addiction, Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to Scotland to try and make amends with those he wronged, ‘Sick Boy,’ now going by Simon (Jonny Lee Miller), and ‘Spud’ (Ewan Bremner).

Of course, there’s a considerable problem: Francis Begbie (Robert Carlyle) is out of prison and is still both a psychopath and sore about Renton’s betrayal. For Renton life has changed, but addiction is a cycle. “You’re an addict,” he says, “so be addicted. Just be addicted to something else.”

T2 succeeds in so many ways where a sequel should. It’s Trainspotting for a new generation, with new addictions, but manages to not feel like a cheap reboot. It focuses its attention on middle age; gone are the squalid, washed-out heroin dens, now replaced by revenge porn and blackmail, flashy nightclubs, brothels and grey hair.

It’s difficult to not get lost in its energy, its rhythm. T2 has all the hallmarks of vitality and youthful filmmaking.

Crucially, the characters are in top form. We see their natural evolution – the unbreakable addiction, and the drive to be free of it all. It succeeds in painting a realistic picture of what became of Renton and his old friends. As he triumphantly runs up the hills of Edinburgh, you can’t help but think of the scrawny heroin addict of twenty-one years ago.

Where the original confronted you with the corrupted reality of a vibrant youth, the sequel confronts you with the emotions of moving on – the what-ifs, old flames and the pain and regret of life squandered. But some things, of course, don’t change. “The world has, but I haven’t,” remarks an oddly wistful Begbie.

It is this concoction of characters and energy that makes T2 tick.
It is, by no means, as dark or as vile as the often nightmarish original, but it’s certainly no less deserving of the 18 certificate.

It’s Trainspotting alright, but in its own way. It takes old characters somewhere new, and shows enormous respect for the source material and the audience. It’s easy to just churn out an effortless cash-in, but T2 is far from that. There is life to it.

Choose your sequel.

Choose T2.

T2 Trainspotting Rating: 9/10

Fashion mogul Tom Ford returns with his sophomore feature, Nocturnal Animals, a stomach-churningly tense and dark thriller, driven by top-notch performances from Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal.

The film focuses on Susan Morrow (Adams), a successful artist who, despite having all the trappings of such success, finds seemingly herself in a state somewhere between emptiness and melancholy. She receives in the mail a manuscript of the novel her ex-husband, Edward (Gyllenhaal), has finally written, simply titled “Nocturnal Animals”.

The novel tells a violent and harrowing tale of a family getaway brutally cut short by an horrifying string of events that leave the protagonist, Tony (with Gyllenhaal taking on this role as well), broken, his life in turmoil.

The film switches between three equally compelling narratives: the life of Susan, as she begins to draw parallels between the story of “Nocturnal Animals” and the disintegration of her previous marriage; the fictional Tony’s quest for revenge in the underbelly of the American South; and, finally, brief flashbacks to the idyllic relationship of Susan and Edward, filmed with a hue of nostalgia and warmth.

Fortunately, nothing becomes too convoluted or unnecessarily complex. Scenes effortlessly blend together, creating a feeling of not just dangerous obsession, but an uneasy dread as Susan’s life becomes unwound in what she feels may even be a thinly-veiled threat targeted directly at her.

The film opens with footage of nude dancers, and Ford makes it clear from the start that Nocturnal Animals will show things for exactly what they are. It’s that humanity that makes Nocturnal Animals both so violent and so impressive.

It’s nauseatingly tense, and the film is coated with a sinister shine. Something dangerous lies just out of sight.

The direction is sleek, polished, and aptly mesmerising. It’s almost to state the obvious to say that the film is beautifully shot. It rarely feels as though style has been prioritised over substance; Nocturnal Animals is rich in both regards.

Although, the film’s greatest strength is Gyllenhaal’s simply exceptional performance as the fictional Tony. There are times when the story shifts away from his narrative to Susan’s, and you find yourself so deeply absorbed in that you almost can’t wait to get back to it.

Although this is not to suggest that Susan’s segments are at all boring or uninteresting – they’re far from it – nor is it to suggest that Nocturnal Animals can be viewed simply as Tony’s story. It would be unfair to the brilliant Amy Adams to assume such.

Nocturnal Animals is a far deeper and more difficult film to digest. It is, at its heart, a film about falling out of love, and the process of moving on. It finds its balance perfectly.

It is difficult to describe what makes Ford’s latest so great without giving away too much. It’s an incredibly well-crafted thriller, and it deals with its themes and ideas in interesting ways that don’t feel particularly pretentious. The less you know going in, the better.

Nocturnal Animals is a must-see, but, at the same time, not a film for everyone by any means. Despite this, it truly demands to be seen.

Nocturnal Animals rating: 8/10