Shots of Heroin

Around 30 minutes into the film Trainspotting, the characters Spud, Sick Boy and Renton make a "healthy, informed, democratic decision to get back on heroin as soon as possible." What follows is a montage exploring the characters' drug use the lifestyles they subsequently lead. Of course the most direct image in this series is an extreme close-up of a spoon in which heroin is mixed, cooked, and sucked into a syringe. This shot provides a defining focus of the interconnected images of the characters, as it is the singularity that their lives revolve around. The extreme closeup presents heroin directly and absolutely, providing the one of the centralizing images that runs throughout the film.
Another shot is a low-angle long shot of Sick Boy, standing over Renton after having presumably shot up heroin, explaining the importance of Ursula Andress to the James Bond series. This shot empowers Sick Boy in an ironic way, partly showing his inflated ego and sense of elevation over the other characters, justified by a perhaps superior intellect and an impressive familiarity with Sean Connery films.
When Tommy asks Renton if he can try heroin for the first time after being dumped by his girlfriend, his discourse is presented by a medium shot, from a slight low angle. This places emphasis on his facial expressions/emotions and body language, which when combined with the murky lighting of the scene show a sense of sadness and desperation that has led him to make the decision to try heroin.


image:
http://www.husar.us/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/trainspotting.jpg