The Acid House

The Acid House - 1998 | 112 mins | Drama | Colour

The Production Team

Director: Paul McGuigan.
Producer: David Muir and Alex Usborne.
Associate Producer: Alan Brereton and Carolynne Kidd.
Script: Irvine Welsh.
Cinematography: Alasdair Walker.
Production Designer: Richard Bridgland and Mike Gunn.
Art Direction: Rohan Banyard and Jean Kerr.
Costume Designer: Lynn Aitken and Pam Tai.
Editing: Andrew Hulme.
Sound/Sound Designer: Brian Howell.

The Cast

The Acid House:
Ewen Bremner - Coco
Martin Clunes - Rory
Jemma Redgrave - Jenny
Arlene Cockburn - Kirsty
Jane Stabler - Emma
A Soft Touch:
Kevin McKidd - Johnny
Michelle Gomez - Catriona
Tam Dean - Burn Alec
Gary McCormack - Larry
The Granton Star Cause:
Stephen McCole - Boab
Garry Sweeney - Kev
Jenny McCrindle - Evelyn
Alex Howden - Boab Snr
Annie Louise - Ross Doreen
Simon Weir - Tambo
Irvine Welsh - Parkie

Plot Synopsis

Three short stories by Irvine Welsh adapted for the screen - and linked by no lesser person than God (Roeves). Set in Edinburgh, The Granton Star Cause - is the enjoyable tale of a bad day in Boab's life - and The Acid House, a shallow tale of identity swapping which features both Ewen Bremner (Coco) and that unconvincing animatronic baby from Trainspotting, as well as the most inept middle-class dialogue outside of a Mike Leigh film. But it's the harrowing central section, The Soft Touch, where things realty come alive - a teeth-grindingly painful took at a cuckolded man (McKidd), his slaggy wife and a neighbour from her, Larry, who turns in a scary performance which lives on tong after the laughs and Britpop have faded.