Trainspotting: Withdrawal Scene

Withdrawal Scene

The withdrawal scene depicts Renton as he suffers a comedown from his drug usage, less the overdose and more the lack of usage have brought about the emotions in this scene. His room is detailed to be the same as a child's which suggests either that he left home early or that his parents never re-decorated as they still retain the memory of child Renton when they see him, which allows them to ignore his obvious drug usage for long periods of time.  Here he lies in a limbo of sorts, left alone with his own thoughts and fears as he weans himself of the drug he appears to have a series of hallucinations which references previous moments of the film but on a whole don't explain themselves and leave it up to the audience for interpretation,  this adds to the hyper-realistic themes of the film. One of his visions depicts the underage girl he slept with, Spud in prison wear and Tommy disheveled from the effects of the heroin; these all show his guilt which is evident whenever he reflects on his past for example the dead baby which literally crawls on the ceiling to really hit home that Renton feels almost haunted by his choices in life. Moments from the present are also shown to be warped in his mind, and the line between reality and dreams are both blurred for Renton and the audience which creates an overall fairly surreal scene.