Starring: James McAvoy, Shauna MacDonald, Eddie Madsen
Policeman Bruce Robertson (McAvoy) works for he police force in Edinburgh and is looking to grab a hotly-contested promotion. A murder case seems to be the means by which Bruce can get his big break but his life of drugs and booze may just prove his undoing.
An adaptation of the 1998 novel by Irvine Welsh (the man who wrote Trainspotting), Filth promises to be a surrealistic and hedonistic journey through one man's life of substance abuse. Whilst much of the promotion surrounding this film has played up to a largely comedic affair, the film is in fact a lot more sombre for all that it is often very strange. The film flits between fantasy and reality which, whilst at times intriguing, makes for a film that as a whole is fairly difficult to connect with. As soon as one sequence is done with, another very different sequence is thrown in with little flow, losing some of the needed connection with the characters and plot. Although the film often goes down very strange avenues, the script and direction make the story in of itself followable despite the detachment.
James McAvoy (who earlier this year starred in the also off-kilter thriller Trance, directed by Danny Boyle who shot to fame with his 1996 adaptation of Trainspotting) unsurprisingly dominates as Bruce; our homophobic, misogynist and racist protagonist whilst Eddie Marsan provides sympathetic support as his geeky friend. Jim Broadbent is the only cast member to match, and even surpass, the energy of McAvoy in the role as the Australian-accented Dr. Rossi; a figment of Bruce's own abused psyche.
As intriguing a film that Filth is, it's largely uneven, lumbering between trying to look like a film by Stanley Kubrick (some of the designs seem particularly akin to A Clockwork Orange (1971)) and grainy scenes of rough-hewn Super-8 style grit. Obviously intending to strike a contrast between this film of two personas, but generally just coming off as unnecessarily inconsistent. Likewise, the drama pays off, especially towards the end but the lack of a clear vision hurts an otherwise perfectly enjoyable film.
Next time, Mark Ruffalo plays a recovering sex addict who finds companionship and temptation with Gwyneth Paltrow in Thanks For Sharing.
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