'Trainspotting' - 'The Worst Toilet in Scotland' Scene Analysis

Towards the beginning of the film, one of the most shocking and disgusting scenes takes place to establish the desperation and extreme lengths that the drug addicts will go to in order to feed their heroine addiction. In this scene, Renton is forced to retrieve a bag of heroine from a toilet with his bare hands.

Just before this scene begins, a close-up perspective panning shot is used of Renton walking through a pub in order to get to the toilet whilst almost every other person in the pub stares at him judgementally. This shot was filmed from Renton's point of view, a fish eye lens was used to make the faces of every person he passed seem more distorted and large to suggest that Renton is unwell as his vision and perception on reality has been altered, perhaps due to drug use or poor health. This shot shows the audience how Renton may feel and be treated by society on a daily basis; he is shamed and alienated in a way that furthers his own label of being an outsider or outcast of society, only pushing him further away from a mainstream lifestyle and validating his drug use and unlawful activity. This may have been the experience of many drug users at the time the film was set, in the wake of Thatcher's Britain.

As Renton approaches the toilet, the audience is shown a seemingly long and narrow corridor in a state of obvious disuse, the walls are mouldy, yellowed and stained and the fluorescent lights flicker intermittently to emphasise the panicked state of mind that is created by the fast cuts in editing. Once Renton enters the toilets and the door closes behind him, the title 'The Worst Toilet in Scotland' fades onto the door, this is the only time that this happens during the film, suggesting that this scene is important and hold a deeper message about the rest of the film.

The first shot we see inside of the toilets is a low-angled shot on floor level of Renton running towards the toilet itself. Here, the interior is dirtier than ever, the walls and floor are stained with a greenish brown, the sinks are heavily rusted and the floor is covered in litter.