Filth

Probably my favourite film of 2013 so far. Gripping all the way through, with all the aspects you need from a feature length film. Yes, it has the obvious overtone of 'filth', but it's not at all in its nature... it's humorous and very touching at times. I think the casting is brilliant and I have a new found respect for James McAvoy, who in previous films I have found to be almost nondescript. He shines here, brighter than most Oscar winning performers I've seen. Ray Donovan's Eddie Marson is also fantastic in his role, so well cast - he's funny and warm in such a subtle way. This is not one of those situations when someone can rightly say 'the book is better' - I think the job has been done so well of adapting it into film format that the book is not better at all, just a different experience. It is honestly a film I want to see again. I think an instant classic, not filthy at all, but pure class.

Remember when Ewan McGregor played in a little movie called Trainspotting? The film was made after a book by Scottish writer Irvine Welsh and it was an intense and often funny window into the complete wasting of human life due to heroin. It made McGregor famous.

Now, James McAvoy has no need to be made famous, he already is, and he showed he is a great actor in several movies; he is on a roll. But in this film, also made from an Irvine Welsh book, he really outdid himself, playing a deranged police inspector torn apart by addiction, grief and madness.

The film itself is difficult to explain and, perhaps, it would be more clear to me if I would have read the book first. Some of the characters I have no idea who they were and why he was interacting with them in the first place. Also the ending is pretty much the antithesis of the one in Trainspotting. Here, there is no hope.

The direction was good, I guess, as well as the general production values. A bunch of known, but usually secondary actors fill the cast, with often interesting results, but let's face it, the film is mostly a one man show and McAvoy was up for the job. I just wish the story would have been less confusing.

Conclusion: it would be a shame not to watch this film, even if you end up not liking it for some reason. You need to be familiar with Scottish accents or use a subtitle to get what people are saying. Other than that, great work, James!

If you like "Trainspotting", you'll love this one. "Filth" is also an adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel and, although the stories do not have much in common, the movies share a specific atmosphere that will pin you to the screen. Its name fits perfectly, because the film is uncompromisingly dirty. James McAvoy plays a corrupt police detective who would stop at nothing to get his promotion. But behind the mask of a self-confident macho chauvinist, there are hidden secrets that the movie gradually unfolds, up to the totally wicked twist at the end. Although McAvoy's character is almost utterly bad guy, his rude and ruthless charm will mesmerize you and make you be on his side all the time, even when his behavior is inexcusably brutal. In addition to his undoubted acting talent, Mcavoy dedicated himself to the credibility of his performance, so he drank lots of whiskey in order to make his role of heavy alcoholic and drug addict more convincing. His transformations throughout the film, and the powerful expressions of psychological states and emotions of his character definitely deserve an Oscar. Although the film is full of insane moments, surreal scenes and filthy humor, "Filth" is primarily a powerful and shocking drama about a man who is falling apart inside, but whose life thought him that he must not show it. The film brings this phenomenon to surreal extremes, but essentially it is something with which many of us can identify, and I think that's precisely what makes McAvoy's character rather antihero than a villain, and what makes us sympathize with him.

8/10

I would just like to mention the remarkable performance of Jim Broadbent, whose surrealistic scenes make this film even more bizarre, and if you pay attention, you may notice tributes to Stanley Kubrick's cult films "A Clockwork Orange" and "Odyssey".

I left the cinema speechless; i normally try to critique and discuss the film straight after, but i was speechless. It was the craziest film i have seen in a long time. It takes boundaries and tells them to f*** off. There are no restrictions with this film. There is brutality, sexism, racism, oppression, homophobia. It is polluted with prejudice. But i thought it was a great film. Am i part of those worldly problems? No. But let's face it, this is unfortunately the way the world is and all this film is doing is showing you just how filthy this world can be.

James McAvoy is a revelation as Detective Bruce Robertson; i really didn't see all the fuss with him. Yes he was good in "The Last King of Scotland", but the rest of the films i just couldn't match the hype to the actor, then i went to see "Trance" and i was blown away by his performance. And if it weren't for seeing that i probably wouldn't have been half as eager to see this. Because he showed the ability to portray more than one character in a film; someone who is both fragile and unstable. With "Filth" he excels beyond that and gives his best showing of his young career. He conveys every emotion, from bitterness, to regret, to sadness, to rage, to insanity and he conveys them extremely convincingly. It is a masterclass of acting.

Some may be easily offended, and if you are usually like that, i would avoid seeing the film. But if you want to face the World and its obvious problems head on (in the form of a film) then it is an outstanding film to do so.

Mister Tumnus, I've a feeling we're not in Narnia any more…

Think you know James McAvoy? Think again. His performance in Jon S. Baird's adaptation of Irving Welsh's Filth is astounding and there is nothing sweet or fluffy about it or any other aspect of the film. Filth is very funny, very wrong, very sordid and very likely to incite hatred from Daily Mail readers across the land. Sex, drugs, more sex, more drugs, violence, corruption, depravity, even more sex and drugs… Filth is absolutely, well, filthy, and is a memorable experience to say the least.

My companion for the screening, Bag, made two comments that stood out post-screening. The first I agree with entirely: "With the thousands of films I've seen over the years, this is the first one I've come out of wishing that I'd made it." The second, that it was a film to appreciate rather than enjoy, I'm going dispute. Call me debauched, immoral and twisted, but I enjoyed every last nanosecond of Filth.

But that's not to say it is always easy viewing. Far from it. Sometime after the midway point the laughs die down, the stomach churns a little more uneasily, the grimaces are more evident and the intakes of breath are more audible. We are less willing to forgive but, like the car crash up ahead that has caused all the drivers in front to rubber-neck, well, just one long look as we pass can't hurt, can it?

Bruce Robertson (McAvoy) is a bigot. He's bi-polar, a junkie, sex-obsessed, self-obsessed, manipulative and frequently thoroughly unpleasant. He's also a cop. With a promotion in the balance, Bruce is up against several colleagues and sets about turning one against the other, unsettling them with salacious gossip and blatant lies to ensure he beats them to the post. Throw in his manipulation of fellow freemason Bladesey (Eddie Marsan), his sultry wife, Carole (Shauna MacDonald) and his hallucinatory sessions with Doctor Rossi (Jim Broadbent) and you have one monumentally screwed up anti-hero. And what's not to love about that?

The Cohen brothers may have the monopoly on fantastic character names, but nobody writes actual characters like Welsh and the cast that Baird has poured into Filth is staggeringly good in their interpretation of this mess of freaks and misfits. There isn't a poor performance in the entire film from the uncertain laddishness of Ray (Jamie Bell) to the fantastic absurdity of Doctor Rossi. While none are bona fide Hollywood stars, the cast that glitters in a maniacal, dirty way is a treat beyond expectation: Imogen Poots, Shirley Henderson, Gary Lewis (yes, Billy Elliott and his dad are reunited at last!), John Sessions, Joanne Froggatt…

Filth is a perfectly paced film; it roars ahead stirring emotions and judgment, exciting and thrilling as it trashes everything in its wake but it is never so fast that we feel left behind or that we've missed out on a juicy morsel of degeneracy. Sufficient time is allowed for us to filter through, as best we can, the quagmire that is Bruce's life, but Baird never pauses or permits us time to glance at our watch or neighbour.

The soundtrack, too, is bang on the money stamping though a musical landscape that is at times acceptably cheesy and more often a reminder of what to check is on the iPod. Where else can you effortlessly segue from David Soul into Shaking' Stevens? While the latter is consigned to audio wallpaper, the bizarrely fantastic cameo from David Soul is a delight. Had Dennis Potter snorted cocaine Pennies From Heaven might have resembled this.

Yes, there are elements of Welsh's novel that are missing (no police dogs here…) from Filth but there always have to be excisions for film adaptations and there's no reason, in this instance at least, to mark down a film for that. No, Filth is superb and as near to perfect as I've seen for many months (since Broken and Trance).

If the trailer excited you, take the plunge. If you're a nun, a granny, my mother, or lack a strong stomach and nurture your prudishness, take a very long, very fast walk in the direction of something much safer. Dixon of Dock Green this ain't!

If you look in the mirror and see something slightly off-kilter grinning back, however…

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