How you react to Filth depends on the strength of your sensibilities and the sickness levels of your sense of humour. I’ve read a few comments where people have said they don’t understand how this film can possibly be classed as a comedy surely it’s a horrendously bleak exploration of mental illness? These comments both amused and kind of worried me because I found the film darkly hilarious with plenty of laugh out loud moments. But for me when it falls down is when it attempts to turn serious and expects you to start sympathising with its central character nihilistic sick bastard of a detective Bruce Robinson, played with relish by James McAvoy.
If you’ve read Irvine Welsh’s novel then McAvoy definitely wouldn’t have been the first actor to spring to mind to play the repellently Machiavellian and degenerate Edinburgh lawman. For a start he’s far too young and pretty, but a through a diet of fish suppers and whisky he has managed to make himself look older and more haggard. Yet you still can’t help but wonder how much more depraved his antics would seem if he was played by an actor closer to the character’s age and description in the book Peter Mullan for example.
That’s not to take anything away from McAvoy’s performance, which is fiercely believable but there’s a sense of safety with him no matter how disgusting the character acts you can always recognise the more wholesome side that we’ve seen of him underneath. But that’s more due to the audience’s familiarity with his image and if you can look past that then there’s no doubt that he’s giving the performance of a lifetime.
It’s a funny quirk of fate that the film was in cinemas at the same time as Sunshine of Leith, as they present completely opposing views of Scotland’s capital. While Dexter Fletcher’s musical made it look like the city was peopled by jolly singing drunkards, Filth has it populated by sinister junkie types. I live in Edinburgh and have encountered plenty of both so there’s no reason both films can’t exist side-by-side, and they would make a nice if kind of schizophrenic double bill. Although the Scottish tourist board would probably much rather you just watch Sunshine on Leith.
One thing the films have in common is that they both make Edinburgh look fantastic. It’s such a naturally cinematic city that even when it’s the backdrop to the sordid shenanigans going on here it still looks beautiful. But that’s partly down to the decision to shoot a lot of the film in the more recognisable and touristy parts of the city rather than the backstreets where it would be more likely to take place.
This is only director John S. Baird’s second feature, after the little seen Cass in 2008, and he has an inventive and distinctive style with a lot of cutaways and fourth wall breaking. But it’s not a unique style; it’s very similar to what Danny Boyle was doing in the late 90s. That coupled with the fact that this is another Irvine Welsh adaptation means comparisons to Trainspotting are inevitable and Filth is always going to come across as a pretender. It’s a lot of fun (provided you’re twisted enough) but doesn’t have the lasting impact of Boyle’s film.
Trainspotting also managed to balance the sick laughs with genuine drama and insight into the characters and managed to be a dark but meaningful delve into the world of drug abusers. Filth manages the sick laughs with aplomb but then in the last act when it attempts to take a serious look at its’ main characters’ psyche and the traumatic childhood that turned him into the monster he is today it becomes somewhat uncomfortably humourless. The imagined scenes with Jim Broadbent’s deranged Australian psychiatrist (replacing the talking tapeworm in the book) are a neat and very funny way of exploring Robinson’s past but towards the end of the film when he’s coming to terms with his mental illness it’s just a bit depressing. At one point another character says to him, “You’re no fun anymore and you can’t help but agree with her.
That said it’s still a sick riot up until that point and you’ve got to admire it for having the courage of its convictions with one of the darkest endings to a movie in recent memory. And the Blu-Ray has a pretty decent bunch of extras so if the film works for you it’s worth picking up.
Overall Verdict: If you’re wrong enough in the head this is an extremely enjoyable and frequently hilarious twisted and dark tale. This is mainly thanks to James McAvoy fearless performance but it doesn’t quite pull off the last act and the shock value wears off after the first viewing so it’s not the kind of film that begs to be revisited.
Special Features:
Audio commentary with John S. Baird and Irvine Welsh
Deleted Scenes
Extended Scenes
Outtakes
Interviews
Reviewer: Adam Pidgeon