Documentaries about writers pose more problems to filmmakers than documentaries about other filmmakers. The reason for this is pretty simple. Film being a visual medium, it's a lot easier to represent images than words on screen. But that doesn't mean to say it can't be done, you've just got your work cut out in order to pull it off successfully. For this Irvine Welsh documentary, it has to be said that it looks like it's been knocked together fast, with surprisingly little focus on the man himself or his work. It's not really biographical at all really, with scant info on his life or interests. So, don't go in thinking you'll learn anything about his formative years in Edinburgh, his love of Hibs or even his motivations for writing most of his books, or really any info at all on most of his books. The only ones that received any mention at all were Trainspotting, The Acid House, Filth and Porno - all ones with movie adaptions it has to be said - with the vast majority of the focus being on Trainspotting. More specifically, it was the two Trainspotting movies which really were getting the main attention here. While I agree that no Irvine Welsh doc could conceivably ever ignore the film adaptions of his work, the main focus should always remain on his actual writing and in this doc, his literary output is firmly in the back seat. It's a hell of a shame that, given he is one of the most dynamic writers of his era.
The film takes a traditional talking heads format, with all manner of people associated with Welsh in some way. It has to be said though that there is a disproportionate amount of extreme waffle spouted by many of the participants - occasional anecdotes are almost impressively endless and tedious, so be warned. It feels like the real purpose of the doc is the talking heads though, with the main focus on having a bunch of people compliment Welsh on how great they think he is, as opposed to being either a bio or proper look at his work. To be fair to this doc, it was an enjoyable enough watch but it definitely is lacking and you can't help but think Irvine Welsh deserved a bit better.
