Director: Jon Baird
Starring: James McAvoy, Jamie Bell
My Rating: Liked It
Budget: $5 Million
Box Office: $8.3 Million (according to wikipedia)
Filth is based on a novel by Irvine Welsh, who also wrote the absolutely brilliant Trainspotting. Filth isn't quite up to Trainspotting's standard, but expect the same kind of drug induced humor and twisted Scottish citizens.
The story follows a very mentally unstable cop, Bruce (played by James McAvoy), who is in the running for a promotion at work. He stops taking his lithium and cranks up his drug use, and what follows is a truly strange movie experience. A handful of other cops are up for the promotion and the movie is essentially about Bruce trying get one up on the other cops while dealing with his mental problems. While this movie is very funny at times, it's also incredibly demented and depressing.
The one thing that stood out to me was that every frame, color wise, was incredibly blown out. The whites are way brighter than they should be. And I will admit, it was clearly an artistic choice, because it remains consistent throughout the whole film. I don't know exactly why they chose to do it. Maybe to emphasize the craziness of the main character? I truly don't know. But I do know that it was a little distracting, and a little ugly, honestly. A few of the shots worked with the blown out colors, but I'd say that 80% of the time the whites were too bright. But that didn't ruin the movie for me.
Besides some truly laugh out loud moments, James McAvoy plays this role perfectly. If you're a Trainspotting fan, Filth shouldn't be missed. It lives up to its name.