Kelly MacDonald Movies
Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald was planning to go to drama school when director Danny Boyle cast her in Trainspotting (1996). A surprise international hit, it featured Macdonald, a native of Glasgow, as the acid-tongued schoolgirl who gives heroin junkie Ewan McGregor one of the more memorable nights -- and surprises -- of his young life.Following the film's great success, Macdonald began finding steady work in a number of films as both a lead and supporting player. In the immediate wake of Trainspotting, she could be seen playing the title character, a teenage prostitute, in Stella Does Tricks. Subsequently, she nabbed a lead role in the period drama Cousin Bette (1997) and a small but memorable part in the lavish historical epic Elizabeth (1998). In 1999, Macdonald was featured in four very diverse films: the first, My Life So Far, cast her as a young girl growing up in 1920s Scotland, while Entropy featured the actress in the thoroughly modern milieu of the 20-something romantic angst drama. Later that year, Macdonald appeared in Mike Figgis' The Loss of Sexual Innocence, playing the young girlfriend of the film's protagonist; and in Gregg Araki's Splendor, a romantic comedy in which she played the blue-haired best friend of the film's heroine.
After a slew of similar supporting roles, including a memorable turn as the daughter of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Colin Firth in My Life So Far, MacDonald was given possibly her biggest break since Trainspotting when Robert Altman cast her as a lead (albeit one of many) in Gosford Park (2001). One-part comedy of manners, one-part murder mystery, the film featured MacDonald in the pivotal role of a young maid who finds herself caught up in a whirl of intrigue, deception, and exceedingly tiresome snobs over the course of a hectic weekend at a country estate. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), a young man with few prospects and fewer ambitions, lives in economically depressed Edinburgh. Like most of his friends, Renton is a heroin addict who loves the drug's blissful nothingness; financing his habit also provides excitement and challenges that his life otherwise lacks. Renton's two best friends are also junkies: Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), a snappy dresser obsessed with James Bond, and Spud (Ewan Bremner), a guileless nerd who suggests Pee Wee Herman's debauched cousin. Renton and his pals also hang out with Begbie (Robert Carlyle), a borderline psychotic who loathes junkies even though he drinks like a fish. After one too many brushes with the law, Renton kicks heroin and moves to London, where he finds a job, a flat, and something close to peace of mind. However, Sick Boy, Begbie, and Spud all arrive at his doorstep on the trail of a big score, leading Renton back into drugs and crime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, (more)
- 1996
The film begins in a London park where a teenage girl wearing pig tails, a short, childish skirt and carrying an ice cream cone sits upon a bench beside an older man and promptly performs a sexual act for him. The girl is Stella and the "stranger" is her pimp, Mr. Peters. As harsh as it is bittersweet, this drama follows Stella as she struggles to escape her grim life as a prostitute. As she fights for her freedom, Stella's childhood in Glasgow unfolds via flashback. Also blending into her stories are her many youthful fantasies and hopeful daydreams. Stella makes the decision to escape after one of her friends is badly beaten by gang leader Fitz. She takes with her the drug-addicted Eddie, a member of Fitz's gang, but Peters does not let her off so easily and has her gang raped by his own henchmen as a sort of parting shot. Stella and Eddie return to Glasgow where she vows to get revenge upon the family members whose lack of caring led her to run away. She then settles down for a better life, only to find herself forced to again face her recent past when Peters suddenly shows up. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly MacDonald, Ewan Stewart, (more)
