I don't know how to judge Begbie. When he's in "normal mode" he seems to be a cool guy - a little bit harsh, but most likely a very loyal friend. Unfortunately, whenever he switches to his "crazy mode" which happens too often and too easily he's getting too unpredictable. Funny as it is, Renton, Spud and Sick Boy seem to admire the guy and be afraid of him at the same time. If you had a choice, would you add Begbie to your friends list?
shareNo. I've known a few guys like that go out looking for trouble. Having to deescalate situations and even being ready to fight wears thin on you. It's exhilarating to have that guy around when you're around 18 to 22 years old ish, but you just don't want to deal with it once you start settling into adulthood.
shareNope... I wouldn't have anything to do with Begbie. Or any of them to be honest. I'm a recovering addict/alcoholic myself and I've known a "Begbie" or two in my day. While the Begbie character was a "tough guy" and kept everyone inline, he was also massively self destructive. He was guaranteed to lash out at whoever was in front of him... if for no other reason than to insure his own demise. I mean look at the end of the movie... He had warrants out for his arrest for armed robbery. Instead of happily splitting the money up as planned, and everyone going their merry way. He gets greedy, and decided it was all his, simply because he could intimidate the rest of the gang. Which ultimately insured he got nothing, and getting caught for his crime. A Begbie is the kind of guy that would keep pushing things till there would be no choice except he, or someone else, would wind up dead. I've never read the book so I don't know what happened to him in prison but I'd be really surprised if he lived through the experience. Hanging out with Begbie would be a sure fire way to make sure insanity would enter your life.
My take on the rest of them was while they weren't as self destructive as Begbie, they were junkies and thieves, and no way you could ever take them at face value. Sick boy sense of survival was to strong to ever cause him to self destruct like Begbie did. Yet, he was pretty slick. He was like the Eddie Haskel of junkies and able to put on any persona he needed while he was standing in front of someone. In the back of his mind though, he was always looking for angles, shortcuts, and anyone/anything he could exploit.
While Renton and Spud might have had their hearts in the "right place" and some measure of moral compass... They were still junkies. They might not have been as physically dangerous as Begbie or sleazy as Sick boy... They were junkie con artists at heart and their ethics were non-existent. They'd rip off a "friend" in a heartbeat. I think part of the reason they were all friends was they all knew and understood they couldn't trust the other one. In the world of junkies, someone that trusts you is considered a sucker and deserving of what they get. In a weird way, I think their mutual mistrust in each other helped build a comradery between themselves.
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A guy like Begbie isn't really a mate. He would turn on you right when you needed him the most and you'd be likely to get a shiv if you tried to do what a real mate does when someone needs to be talked out of losing control.
The only people who need friends like that are criminals with less principle or ethics than Spud and Renton.
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I like to get loaded and watch Deadwood.