The typical generic conventions of the place where Renton is staying is a council house which is messy, walls falling apart, mould, mattresses of floor, tatty clothes and old television and sofa. This tells us that he is lower class and a typical drug user. We also get the impression like they are squatters from the state of the house and all the people living in there.
The narrative in the film is non linear and has a montage sequence, by doing this it keeps us interested because it isn’t straight forward like most films. We are also put in different situations such as when Renton takes drugs but then we are put in the situation when Renton is off drugs so by being put in different situations we are kept interested and involved in the film.
The film is very art house as it has many scenes which are unreal but we know that it is and are able to accept this. An example is, when the baby is walking of the ceiling and twists his head right round, and also when Renton gets sucked down the toilet and swims around.
The audience’s generic expectations are fulfilled as we would expect drug users to be drinking, smoking, taking heroine, having sex, living in a messy council flat, so we aren’t disappointed and the situation is more real than if they were living in a big, tidy posh house.
The iconographic features in the film is that when we see a splif we know this is to do with drugs and when we see a council flat we know the person living there is mostly likely to be working class, therefore we are getting more involved and more interested in the film.
The major generic themes in Trainspotting is that drugs control your life but it is possible to come clean if you work at it, even when surrounded by friends that still smoke drugs. Another theme is that drugs will get you into trouble and you will get sent to hospital if you overdose. By telling the audience this then people who do take drugs may stop taking them once they find out what happens and those who want to give up may get a boost when they see that you can if you try, as Mark has shown us.
The codes and conventions in Trainspotting make the film a success as people are able to either relate to what is happening or they are more aware of what drugs can do to you. Once people see this they may feel the need to help people to get off drugs are warn people of the consequences, this is the main purpose of the film, to warn people and cut the amount of people who take drugs. I also think that is a success as Ewan McGregor is stared and the audience will recognise him from films such as Star wars and Moulin Rouge and therefore know that the film is likely to be good to watch. Ewan McGregor has also stared in the film Shallow hale which Danny Boyle (The director of Trainspotting) directed. Shallow Hale is also a drama film and if the audience have watched Shallow Hale they have expectations that Ewan McGregor needs to live up to.
I think the whole art house effect adds to the success as it is made to look unreal but not like a cartoon. It doesn’t put us off the film as it goes with the fact that drugs cause weird effects such as hallucination, so in a way it is involving us into the film and letting us know how it feels to be on drugs.
The film has also been a success because of the director “Danny Boyle” who has directed films such as Shallow Hale and has become the English Quentin Tarentino because of his camera effects. He also makes use of soundtrack which is important in films as it adds tension and can carry the story on to make it more interesting, "It is very important with this kind of film that the soundtrack was very appealing so that it drives the film and people connect with it at different points." Danny Boyle.
