Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy

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Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy

Released Sep 6, 2012

1h 39m

Drama

Romance

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15%

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20 Reviews

25%

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1,000+ Ratings

Lloyd has a carefree life as a raver, drug dealer and user, and he manages to escape responsibilities while he is bullied by a drug kingpin.

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Critics Consensus

The high never even achieves liftoff in Ecstasy, a tepid adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel that will exhaust audiences' serotonin levels long before the credits roll.

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Rob Salem

Toronto Star

Ecstasy is to ecstasy what Trainspotting was to heroin. Different times, different drugs, but the Scotland-set story of addiction and redemption is pretty much the same.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 22, 2012

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David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

In the end, ECSTASY wants to have it both ways -- drugs are celebrated at the beginning of the film, and condemned -- or at least the crime connected with them is - by the end.

Rated: 2.5/5

Apr 26, 2012

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Scott Murray

Sydney Morning Herald

One gets the feeling this director doesn't think his target audience is all that smart.

Rated: 2.5/5

Apr 26, 2012

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Prairie Miller

WBAI Radio

A drug-fueled landscape impacted by the Thatcher years, characterized by Scottish working class misery and massive unemployment feeding the underground drug economy. And reflecting Welsh's own conflicting personas as cult figure, pariah and antichrist.

Jan 4, 2013

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Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

Ecstasy attempts to conjure the same sense of insanity, musical muscle, and impish wit, only to stumble repeatedly as it struggles to put on a dazzling sound and light show.

Rated: C-

Dec 28, 2012

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Sarah Ward

Trespass

Its fondness for the writer and the drug film genre may be evident; however neither can turn Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy into anything more than an inferior homage.

Apr 26, 2012

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Audience Member

Trainspotting it is not.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

I really like Trainspotting and Filth, both films based on novels by Irvine Welsh, but this much smaller film based one of his novels couldn't come close to being as good as those other two. It basically felt like a cheaper, poorer made version of Trainspotting as it used some of the same effects, unfortunately Ecstacy doesn't have the cast, director Danny Boyle, or even as a good of a story as Trainspotting does. There were parts that I liked and it has a decent soundtrack, but overall this film really pails in comparisons to the other two Welsh films that I've seen.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Comparisons To 'Trainspotting' Made Some 15-Years Prior Is Inevitable..Different Drugs, Different Focus, Same Low Budget..This, However, Is The Lesser Known Cousin...& With Pretty Good Reason. It's Shyte!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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andrew k

A horrible and blatant attempt to emulate a Trainspotting type film. None of it works and the least believable part is Kristin Kreuk.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

If he'd made this before trainspotting I would understand. Should have been better.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

a major let down, does not do Irvine Welsh justice

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Rob Heydon

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Synopsis

Lloyd has a carefree life as a raver, drug dealer and user, and he manages to escape responsibilities while he is bullied by a drug kingpin.

Director: Rob Heydon
Producer: Rob Heydon, Allan Levine
Screenwriter: Rob Heydon, Matt MacLennan, Paul McCafferty, Ben Tucker
Distributor: Intandem Films
Production Co: Rob Heydon Productions
Genre: Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 6, 2012, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 21, 2013
Runtime: 1h 39m

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