As the film progresses, you get a firm sense of the time that has elapsed since its beginning. If I were to call "Trainspotting" a "coming of age" story, many people would probably go into it expecting the wrong thing. It is however, in its most basic definition, a coming of age story: boy is troubled, boy comes clean, boy struggles, boy comes clean. Is that any different from the intended messages of "Stand by Me?" People love being retold the story of the screw up kid who is finally able to come through and beat his original faults, it makes us feel good. (and it usually makes for a helluva movie)