Filth, 2013.
Directed by Jon S. Baird.
Starring James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan, Imogen Poots, Brian McCardie, Emun Elliott, Gary Lewis, John Sessions, Shauna Macdonald, and Jim Broadbent.
SYNOPSIS:
An egotistical and conniving Scottish police officer who sees the world through a drug-induced haze attempts to secure a promotion by undermining his fellow contenders.
Determined to win back his estrange wife and daughter, Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy) exploits the weaknesses of his colleagues in an effort to obtain a coveted promotion of Detective Inspector within the Scottish police force; prospects are looking great, especially, when the boss hands Robertson the responsibility of solving the murder of a Japanese student while he concentrates on learning how to write a screenplay. When Robertson fails to save the life of man, the incident awakens his own guilt over his culpability in the death of his younger brother. Hallucinations encroach on reality, thereby, revealing that the greatest threat to Robertson is himself.
There is no doubt that author Irvine Welsh has been able to mine the drug culture in Scotland which turned into popular culture gold when Danny Boyle did a cinematic adaptation of Trainspotting (1996). Another Welsh novel has been given the big screen treatment, this time it is Filth by filmmaker Jon S. Baird (Cass) who wrote and directed the project. Overdosed with bawdy comedy and mixed with a bitter hint of drama Baird has produce a slick and stylish story which is as fragmented as diminishing mental state of the protagonist.
Everything hinges on the performance of James McAvoy (X-Men: Days of Future Past) who has to turn a despicable human into a charming rogue. One can see the attraction to a role where nothing would be considered too outrageous and McAvoy who is nearly in every single frame of movie seizes the opportunity with gusto. The trouble is that the debauchery becomes tiresome and repetitive. The growing darkness causes Filth to take on surreal nature as like Black Swan (2010) which also chronicles how an obsessive pursuit can lead to destructive madness, but unlike the Academy Award winning film it comes across as being more distracting than cleverly executed.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Video Services Corp. presents Filth which will be available on Premium iTunes and cable VOD across Canada on May 20, 2014 and opens theatrically on May 30, 2014 in Toronto at the Carlton Theatre.
Originally published May 7, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
