Irvine Welsh on the difference between American and British dramas
Credited for writing the novel that was adapted into one of Scotland’s most iconic films, Irvine Welsh found success with his 1993 book Trainspotting. The legendary book follows the daily antics of a heroin addict called Mark (known to his friends as Rent Boy) and his companions.
Trainspotting was then adapted for the screen in 1996, with Danny Boyle as a director and John Hodge writing the script. It ended up nabbing an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film features a fantastic ensemble, including Ewan McGregor as Mark, with Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, and Kelly Macdonald. This adaptation was a huge success, cited by many critics as one of the best films of the 1990s and ranking at number ten on the BFI’s Top 100 British films of the 20th century.
Trainspotting explores its overriding theme of addiction and its aftermath alongside more contextual areas, such as family relationships and the law. Mark and his friends, Sick Boy and Spud, alongside aggressive psychopath Begbie, engage in many criminal acts, such as shoplifting. This results in Mark and Spud earning rehabilitation and prison sentences, respectively.
During an interview with The Shortlisted Magazine, author Welsh shared his views on how British crime stories, which Trainspotting briefly becomes through the boys’ acts, can be separated from those of America through tone. When asked if he feels there is any difference between British crime dramas and American ones, Welsh answers, “traditionally, there is”. He also shares, “I’m not interested in traditional British cop dramas; it was too procedural for me”.
Welsh elaborates on this statement and shares why he views British crime stories this way: “It’s all about catching the criminal, the good guys, the bad guys, and all the nice people getting to sleep easy in their beds. I don’t like that at all.”
“I see about the fucked up guys catch the more fucked-up guys for the rest of us, and we enter this uneasy sort of truce with them”, the author proceeds. He also reveals a vision he wishes these cop dramas would explore, “I want the cops to be as fucked up as the criminals.”
He then compares this to how America tell their police stories, stating, “I think that’s what American drama does well; it makes the cops into proper characters”. For Welsh, this means the police characters are “barely two-dimensional”, which he cites as a positive because “nobody’s perfect.”
Welsh then builds on ideas of representing what is true to the audiences that watch the shows: “You know, nobody is this kind of big thing in life, and if you’re a cop or you’re a gangster, you lead quite a stressful life. You might be just an ordinary guy, but you’re living an extraordinary life, and that puts demand, incredible demand on you, so why not reflect that on the screen?”
