In review: Filth (2013)

Filth (2013) 

James McAvoy is Bruce Robertson, an amoral, racist, sexist, sociopathic policeman in line for promotion and enlisted to solve a brutal murder. As he journeys through the seedy Edinburgh underworld can he keep his sanity in check long enough to get the promotion he desires, or will the filth get the better of him?
From the get go, Filth was always going to suffer from comparisons with Trainspotting, the definitive Irvine Welsh screen adaptation, and credit to writer-director Jon S Baird he's delivered a delightfully weird and hallucinogenic film that comes fairly close to living up to hopes. Possessed with more than its share of visual invention and dark humour, Filth revels in its seedy subject matter, painting a picture of group of flawed, broken people.

However, it suffers from being  tonally uneven and in its more somber elements it fails to deliver the proper emotion where it counts. The mismatch of out and out zany humour with the darker threads ends up robbing the latter much of its impact. A barely hinted at subplot regarding McAvoys absent family isn’t given the attention it deserves, robbing a late plot twist of its true emotional value, while references to A Clockwork Orange and even Psycho seem obvious.

Which isn’t to say the film is a failure. Far from it in fact. The film shines in its more out and out bonkers elements, taking darkly comic delight in the transgressions and ineptitude of its central troop. A good script gives the strong the cast plenty to chew on, with Eddie Marson standing out as the abused best mate.
MCavoy, however, is the linchpin of the whole affair. He invests Bruce, a bit of a wanker, with plenty of charm and likeability. Razor sharp yet increasingly unable to distinguish between fiction and reality, Bruce swims in a sea of alcohol and coke abuse, deviant sex and mental illness. It's a tough role, and it's all the more impressive that McAvoy manages to humanise him.

Not quite an era defining classic then, but thanks to a career best performance from McAvoy, it's no write off either.

 4/5


Originally written for York Vision