Critics slam Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy movie

Earlier this year, we keenly reported that the Irvine Welsh book Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance had been given the silver screen treatment, with the trailer showing promising signs of a rollicking trip through the Edinburgh club scene of the ‘90s. The film version of Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy also boasts a cameo appearance from one John Digweed (he obviously enjoyed his Groove moment) and a soundtrack that includes Orbital, Primal Scream, Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto. We sincerely hoped it would join the ‘clubbing movie’ Hall Of Fame.

The film – which was released in the UK in 2011 – is now in limited release in cinemas across Australia, but critics have not been kind to the finished product. Over at Rotten Tomatoes, Ecstasy is sitting at a dismal 6% on the critics’ ‘Tomatometer’. “A crass and shallow exploration of a potentially interesting topic, which makes for one downer of a cinematic trip,” wrote Filmink.

In the words of Time Out London’s reviewer: “It gets itself in a real thematic tangle, one-minute espousing the liberating potency of ‘disco biscuits’ and a kickin’ DJ set, then later insisting that real life and real emotions only begin once illicit substances are out of the equation. Like so many drug movies it starts out down-with-the-kids but ends up preaching.”

And on and on the acerbic reviews go. But hey, maybe they’re all wrong! Have you managed to catch it on one of its very-occasional screenings? Or will you be warily waiting for DVD? Let us know in the comments section below.