Dirty Filthy Love

The genre, Movies of the Afflicted, generally suffers from too much sentiment and too little cash. This TV production holds its own as a TV movie from the production standpoint. A bit choppy. A few too many loose ends, even for those of us without acute OCD. However, the efforts of Michael Sheen and Shirley Henderson give this film a lot of genuine heart. A somewhat sentimental portrayal perhaps, but with a sincerity that cannot be outweighed. The good that a production like this can do more than justifies the value of the project from the get-go, but this production manages to play better than a manual, aimed at adolescents. I think there is something truly unique in the British tradition of acting that raises productions like these a peg or two above their American equivalents.

This unusual movie was very well done, but overlong. The story arc is predictable, but the journey is worth the ride.

The odd camera angles do indeed help us feel Mark's discomfort. Even in casual conversations we alternate between overly tight head shots and very long shots; the camera never allows us to become comfortable with the situation.

I disagree with Missipecac in one area only. This film does indeed directly laugh at, and allow us to laugh at, the traits of OCD. I noticed, however, that this only happened between OCD sufferers. The outsiders in the film never laughed. They were always uncomfortable, frightened, distant, or confused. And the viewer was never given the opportunity to laugh in these situations.

It was only when the OCD sufferers could let their guard down and laugh (instead of crying) that the viewer could laugh along with them.

The predictableness of the plot did make for a movie that was too long. It could have been a good 10-15 minutes shorter. Even so, there was one obvious reference to a scene that was cut that I found quite jarring.

I was a spouse of a person with a major mental illness (not OCD). I would have liked to see the wife drawn a bit more fully. There were hints at her underlying sadness, regret, and guilt, but only the tiniest of hints.

I think this movie is a MUCH better examination of OCD than As Good As It Gets with Jack Nicholson. That movie was insufferably cute. In Dirty Filthy Love, even when you laugh at OCD, you never, ever find it cute or quirky.

I had been eagerly anticipating this one off drama special ever since ITV started the advertising campaign a few weeks previously. The story of a man whose life is torn apart by an obsessive compulsive disorder was certainly a break from the monotonous murder mystery garbage the channel usually churns out in the Sunday 9pm time slot.

However, I'm afraid to report that I was disappointed with the final result. Yes, Dirty Filthy Love was an impressive piece of drama. From the very start the audience was made to feel as in they too were in Mark's obsessive universe, due the intelligent use of camera angles. The viewer almost felt that character's own discomfort themselves. And yes, the central story of Mark's marriage to Stevie breaking down helped to create a genuine sense of sadness for the character & his plight.

However, the feeling created for Mark was one of sympathy, not empathy. I couldn't help but feel that by making light of OCDs, the film-makers had certainly spun out a confused narrative. Was it a comedy? Was it a drama? It was hard to know what the makers' intentions were. Were we supposed to be laughing at the illness, or feeling sorry for them?

Of course, I know the old saying - if you can't laugh at something all you can do is cry. And I know that being able to lighten up about a serious subject is a very healthy thing to do. And OCD is certainly an illness that creates plenty of opportunities for joke-making. I know because I am a sufferer of the condition myself. However, I just felt that there were sometimes were the makers should have resisted the temptation to go for the laugh-factor, & concentrated more on showing the true complexities.

The fact is OCD is a condition that can not be neatly tied up in a Sunday night prime-time slot. For most, there is no beginning, middle and end. Its something that can fester and fester for years, causing a secret, constant pain to the sufferer. The extreme outcome of Mark's case was most certainly done for drama purposes.

I hope that those who watched and had no previous understanding of the condition came away more educated. But I doubt that they did. For the most part I predict that the audience came away thinking, "Its so weird, I just don't get it. Chocolate powder on his face? But I liked him though, he was a nice character."

The thing is OCD is not just something that occurs in extreme cases. I'm sure that most people who watched & were baffled by the quirky behaviours actual have some small OCD 'quirks' themselves. Ask yourselves this - have you ever checked, doubled checked & checked again that all the light switches are off or that the bedside alarm is set correctly? Do you often ensure that everything around you is 'straightened' and tidied up before you relax on the couch? Have you ever been convinced that a particular item of clothing has been responsible for an occurrence of bad/good luck?

Maybe the issues at hand are closer than you may have realized.

I recently watched this film a few days ago and I must say, it really took me by surprise. At the start of the film, I cracked up at the main character's behavior and the deeper I got into the film, I realized that I know someone who has the same problem but not as severely. The main actor did so well with the twitching and facial movements it made me think of the person I know who does the EXACT same thing. You feel deeply what the character does and he truly wants to control his problem but needs to face reality that he has a mental illness(?). Definitely a movie worth watching and one that will get you thinking about people who suffer or handle their OCD/Tourette's Syndrome.

Beginning with a smart script by Jeff Pope and Ian Puleston-Davies (the latter a fine actor who happens to be afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and under the inordinately delicate direction of Adrian Shergold, DIRTY FILTHY LOVE is one of the more sensitive examinations of two challenges that affect the lives of many people throughout the world: Tourette's Syndrome (complete with tics and uncontrollable inappropriate outbursts of foul language, noises, shouts), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (lives complicated by the need for order imposed by the patient's mind as a series of repeated behaviors that protect the person from the terror of living in a chaotic world). Wrongly titled (a title that probably prevents many people from seeing this little miracle of a film) and incorrectly billed as a comedy (which is most certainly not), DIRTY FILTH LOVE is one of those films that slipped by us all without a theatrical release but now is thankfully available on DVD. It deserves full attention.

Mark Furness (played with superlative skill by Michael Sheen) is an architect on leave due to his progressive illnesses (see above) and who is first seen in the throes of beginning a trial separation from his beloved wife Stevie (Anastasia Griffith) who can no longer live under the same roof with Mark's 'inexplicable' behavior patterns. Left alone with the anxiety over his surfacing deterioration from his physical challenges, Mark finds solace with his close friends who also tire of his behavior and insist he seek medical help. In the waiting room of a deaf-eared doctor Mark 'meets' Charlotte (the astonishingly fine character actor Shirley Henderson) and Charlotte, who happens to suffer from both Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well as trichotillomania (uncontrolled pulling out hair strands to the point of baldness), senses a man who needs help. Charlotte tells Mark of a group therapy session for people with similar problems and Mark, out of desperation, joins the group (a fascinating group of actors imbuing their disease states without the least sign of parody).

It is obvious rather early on that Charlotte is attracted to Mark, but Mark's life is one directed toward making himself acceptable to Stevie. With a powerful confrontation at a very social party Mark realizes he suffers from a disease state he has had since birth and the only one who really cares about his dilemma and understands his turmoil is Charlotte: a strange love affair is finally recognized.

Scripts such as this are all too rare and when brought to the screen with the exceptional acting and direction rendered by this crew they become films that should be required viewing. In every way these are brilliant performances by Michael Sheen and by Shirley Henderson, yet because the film never received a theatrical release in this country (probably due to the factors mentioned above) it will be ignored by the Oscars. But awards are only momentary returns for art pieces of this caliber and this one is destined for a long shelf life. Highly recommended. Grady Harp