Sequence Analysis

In this sequence, the main character, Mark Renton has gotten off heroin and on methadone but he has already used all his methadone for the next 18 hours so he visits his dealer, a stocky old man called Mother Superior, for another hit of heroin. The sequence begins with him flipping into Mother Superior's apartment. This is the second part of a graphic match cut of Renton jumping off a wall in the last scene to transition to this one. The juxtaposition of this match cut is worth noting, because when Renton jumps off a high brick wall and lands in the apartment, it establishes the apartment as a safe place in his mind. Renton and Mother Superior act out a sort of charade where Renton plays the role of a customer at a fancy restaurant, and Mother Superior acts as his server, taking Renton's coat and saying that his favorite dish is on the menu this evening. Mother Superior asks Renton if he would like to pay for his bill in advance, which turns out to be redundant because Renton's credit limit was "reached and breached quite some time ago", referencing a history of binging and  amassing debt. Mother Superior checks Renton's money to see if it's real while offering him garlic bread but Renton says he'd just like to proceed directly to the intravenous injection of hard drugs. Mother Superior brings Renton a hit, which Renton pauses to look at for a second. All sound cuts out as the shots cut back and forth from close ups on Renton's face to extreme close ups of the needle in his skin and his blood mixing with the heroin until the final shot inside the syringe where the last of the heroin enters Renton's veins there is a whoosh of sound as Renton exhales and falls back into the rug. Renton literally sinks into the rug and starts shaking, his eyes glassed over. Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" begins to play (which is a reference to an earlier conversation between Renton and his friend Sick Boy about Lou Reed's career after the Velvet Underground) and it becomes clear enough that Renton is overdosing for Mother Superior to come over and ask if he needs a cab. We see this from Renton's perspective, with Mother Superior looking over the left side of the carpet, which is now obscuring Renton's view, creating a vertical frame in the middle third of the screen enhancing a sort of tunnel vision effect. This effect could just be meant to depict the Renton's overdose, however it is likely that it is also a reference to the general theme of tunnel vision Renton and his friends exhibit concerning heroin specifically.We hear the sounds of an ambulance which we then see driving past Renton and Mother Superior in the street, demonstrating the priorities of Mother Superior, his own anonymity rather than Renton's safety. A taxi then rolls up, which Mother Superior drags Renton into the back seat of. He then tucks money for the cab driver into Renton's shirt pocket and pats his cheek, behavior like this indicates some sort of deeper connection between the two.The Cab brings Renton to the hospital and he is rushed in. We the disapproving/disgusted looks that people sitting in the hospital give Renton through the framing of his rug perspective. It seems that people from all walks of life judge Renton, because at least they don't shoot heroin. Renton is given a shot and rises up from the depths of the rug, indicating that he has been saved from his overdose. He takes a huge breath and "Perfect Day" stops playing ending on the line "You're going to reap just what you sow" meaning Renton will be forced to face the consequences of his actions. He then lies there breathing heavily for a minute, probably processing what just happened. The song choice of "Perfect Day" was specific in order to juxtapose the dismal nature of a relapse and overdose with a nostalgic story of a perfect day in the park.