The Acid House (film)
Encyclopedia
The Acid House is a film adaptation of Irvine Welsh
's short story
collection The Acid House
. Welsh himself wrote the screenplay
, and appears as a minor character in the film.
film, directed by Paul McGuigan
, dramatises three stories from the book:
All three sections are independent, but are linked by setting and by the reappearance of incidental characters, in particular Maurice Roëves
who appears variously as an inebriated wedding guest, a figure in a dream, and a pub patron. All three of his parts symbolise a human manifestation of God.
The film offended elements of the UK tabloid press with a depiction of a cynical and jaded, foul-mouthed God, and in some countries (such as Canada and the United States) has been shown on television with subtitles because of most characters' heavy Scottish accents.
“A Soft Touch”
“The Acid House”
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
's short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
collection The Acid House
The Acid House
The Acid House is a 1994 book by Irvine Welsh, later made into a film. It is a collection of short stories, with each story featuring a new set of characters and scenarios.-Stories:...
. Welsh himself wrote the screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, and appears as a minor character in the film.
Plot
The 19981998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
film, directed by Paul McGuigan
Paul McGuigan (filmmaker)
Paul McGuigan is a film director, best known for directing films such as Lucky Number Slevin and Push. He has also directed episodes of Sherlock and Monroe.-Filmography:-Awards:...
, dramatises three stories from the book:
- The Granton Star Cause is a comedy, where Boab is having a very bad day indeed. His parents throw him out so they can indulge in sado-masochism and he is sacked from his job, dumped by his girlfriend and dropped from his footballFootball (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team. It has elements of Franz KafkaFranz KafkaFranz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
's The MetamorphosisThe MetamorphosisThe Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of short fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world...
. One of the characters is a pitiless and profane God, who transforms him into a fly as punishment for wasting his life. - A Soft Touch: Kevin McKiddKevin McKiddKevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
plays a cuckolded husband while Gary McCormackGary McCormackGary McCormack is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying "Larry" in Paul McGuigan's 1998 film The Acid House, written by Irvine Welsh. McCormack won a 1999 International Fantasy Film Award for Best Actor for his role. In 2002 he played a member of "Bill The Butcher's" gang in Martin...
is Larry, the ruthless upstairs neighbour who steals his electricity and his wife, played by Michelle GomezMichelle GomezMichelle Gomez is a Scottish actress best known for her comedy roles in Green Wing and The Book Group.-Early life:Her father, originally from Montserrat, was a photographer, while her mother ran a modeling agency...
. - The Acid House: An acidLSDLysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
trip and a bolt of lightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
result in amiable schemie Coco Brice exchanging places with the baby of a middle classMiddle classThe middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
couple.
All three sections are independent, but are linked by setting and by the reappearance of incidental characters, in particular Maurice Roëves
Maurice Roëves
Maurice Roëves is a British actor, born in Sunderland, County Durham on 19 March 1937.His television roles include Danger UXB , The Nightmare Man , the 1984 Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani, Days of our Lives , Tutti Frutti , Rab C...
who appears variously as an inebriated wedding guest, a figure in a dream, and a pub patron. All three of his parts symbolise a human manifestation of God.
The film offended elements of the UK tabloid press with a depiction of a cynical and jaded, foul-mouthed God, and in some countries (such as Canada and the United States) has been shown on television with subtitles because of most characters' heavy Scottish accents.
Cast
“The Granton Star Cause”- Maurice RoëvesMaurice RoëvesMaurice Roëves is a British actor, born in Sunderland, County Durham on 19 March 1937.His television roles include Danger UXB , The Nightmare Man , the 1984 Doctor Who serial The Caves of Androzani, Days of our Lives , Tutti Frutti , Rab C...
- God - Stephen McColeStephen McColeStephen McCole is a Scottish actor. McCole plays the leading role in the television black comedy High Times. McCole portrays Rab, an unemployed stoner who lives with his family in a bleak high-rise flat in Glasgow. The series, which received the 2004 BAFTA Scotland Best Drama Award, also features...
- Boab - Garry Sweeney - Kev
- Jenny McCrindle - Evelyn
- Simon WeirSimon WeirSimon Weir is a Scottish actor. He is best known as Paul McLafferty in Take the High Road and for his role as a gangster in River City. He also appeared in the short-film The Acid House as Tambo. Simon also recently took up the role of CS Carlisle in the independent movie Night is Day...
- Tambo - Iain Andrew - Grant
- Irvine WelshIrvine WelshIrvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...
- Parkie - Pat StantonPat StantonPatrick Gordon Stanton is a Scottish former football player and manager.He joined Hibs from Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic in 1963 and made his debut for the club against Motherwell in October that year. He quickly established himself in the first team, playing in defence or midfield...
- Barman - Alex Howden - Boab Snr
- Annie Louise Ross - Doreen (as Ann Louise Ross)
- Dennis O'ConnorDennis O'ConnorDennis O'Connor may refer to:* Dennis O'Connor * J. Dennis O'Connor, Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh* Dennis O'Connor * Dennis O'Connor in The Park Is Mine -See also:...
- PC Cochrane - John GardnerJohn GardnerJohn Champlin Gardner, Jr. was an American novelist, essayist, literary critic and university professor. He is perhaps most noted for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth from the monster's point of view....
- Sgt. Morrison - William BlairWilliam BlairWilliam Blair may refer to:*Willie Blair , baseball player*William H. Blair , American Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General...
- Workmate - Gary McCormackGary McCormackGary McCormack is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying "Larry" in Paul McGuigan's 1998 film The Acid House, written by Irvine Welsh. McCormack won a 1999 International Fantasy Film Award for Best Actor for his role. In 2002 he played a member of "Bill The Butcher's" gang in Martin...
- Workmate - Malcolm Shields - Workmate
- Stewart Preston - Rafferty
“A Soft Touch”
- Maurice Roëves- Drunk
- Kevin McKiddKevin McKiddKevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
- Johnny - Michelle GomezMichelle GomezMichelle Gomez is a Scottish actress best known for her comedy roles in Green Wing and The Book Group.-Early life:Her father, originally from Montserrat, was a photographer, while her mother ran a modeling agency...
- Catriona - Tam Dean BurnTam Dean BurnTam Dean Burn is a Scottish actor who has played a wide range of roles on stage and screen, including in Taggart. Recent theatrical roles include being the narrator of the 2009 play 'Year of the Horse', about artist Harry Horse.-External links:*...
- Alec - Scott Imrie - Pool Player
- Niall Greig Fulton - Alan
- Cas Harkins - Skanko
- Morgan Simpson - Chantal, Baby
- Marnie Kidd - Chantal, Toddler
- Alison Peebles - Mother
- Joanne Riley - New Girl
- Katie Echlin - Wendy
- William 'Giggs' McGuigan - Pub Singer
- William Blair - Deck
- Gary McCormack - Larry
“The Acid House”
- Maurice Roëves - Priest
- Ewen BremnerEwen Bremner-Early life:Bremner was born in Edinburgh, the son of two art teachers. He attended Davidson's Mains Primary School and Portobello High School. He originally wanted to be a circus clown, but was offered a chance in show business by television director Richard D. Brooks. One of his first notable...
- Colin 'Coco' Bryce - Martin ClunesMartin ClunesAlexander Martin Clunes is an English actor and comedian. Clunes is perhaps best known for his roles as Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly, Doctor Martin Ellingham in Doc Martin and the title character in Reggie Perrin....
- Rory - Jemma RedgraveJemma RedgraveJemma Redgrave is a fourth-generation English actress of the Redgrave family.-Early life/family:Born in London as Jemima Rebecca Redgrave, she is the daughter of the late actor Corin Redgrave and his first wife, the late Deirdre Hamilton-Hill, a former fashion model. They divorced when Jemma was...
- Jenny - Arlene Cockburn - Kirsty
- Jane Stabler - Emma
- Doug Eadie - Coco's Father
- Andrea McKenna - Coco's Mother
- Cas Harkins - Skanko
- Billy McElhaney - Felix the Paramedic
- Ricky CallanRicky CallanRicky Callan is one of Scotland's best known character actors. A familiar face on television, he has a long list of credits to his name including The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star, Taggart, Monarch Of The Glen, Rebus and Velvet Soup...
- Tam the Driver - Barbara RaffertyBarbara RaffertyBarbara Rafferty is a Scottish actress. She is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 1999, then again from 2008 when the show made a comeback. Other notable television roles include playing Agnes Meldrum the pub landlady in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The...
- Dr. Callaghan - Stephen DochertyStephen DochertyStephen Docherty is a Scottish footballer currently playing within the ranks of Scottish Junior Football. He previously played in the Scottish Football League for Partick Thistle and Clydebank...
- Nurse Boyd - Ronnie McCann - Andy