User Reviews

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.

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!

This is another film adaptation of an Irvine Welsh novel that was referred to as "unfilmable", although when reading the book when it first came out I for one was struck by the tightness of the narrative and the cinema-friendly focus on a single protagonist.

The antihero in question is Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy), a dodgy copper trying to make the most of a promotion opportunity by ruining his rivals through a series of cruel intricate schemes. Meanwhile, his mind is deteriorating, and he's haunted by flashbacks, waking dreams, and humanoid livestock. The film is fairly faithful to the source, and the changes (including some understandably blunted edges) are down to the different artform.

Irvine Welsh has said that McAvoy's performance is better than De Niro's in Taxi Driver. I don't think this is a suitable comparison. Scorsese's seminal feature was about a post-traumatic depression, whereas Jon S. Baird's film is more manic. For me, the film Filth most resembles is A Clockwork Orange. Like Kubrick's masterpiece, the entire aesthetic is informed by the subjectivity of the central character. And there are subtler nods: the use of classical music, the bleached windows, Jim Broadbent's reinvention of the Deltoid character (a probation officer then, a psychiatrist now), and the visual reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Before the film's release, I wasn't convinced by the casting of McAvoy, but after watching it I can safely say he's transformative – to capture such bipolar savagery and the fear in a single facial expression is the sign of a special performance. The supporting cast provides a colourful blend of caricatures. Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan and Imogen Poots all make an impact in the few moments when McAvoy isn't dominating the screen.

For me, the dud notes concern the tone of the film. Sometimes Baird's shifts between the schizoid black comedy of Robertson's outbursts and his introspective guilt about his past are so sudden and sentimental that their capacity to convince is lost in the (lack of) transition. Part of this is down to Clint Mansell's disappointingly soft score, whose tinkly piano and lifeless strings often feel incongruous, more awkward than deliberate.

But these minor issues don't detract from a powerful, funny, and finally moving depiction of mental disintegration. To say that it's the best Welsh adaptation since Trainspotting may not be saying much – so I'll say instead that it's a very good film in its own right.

Inside the mind of a sex & drug addict policeman. His addictions are so deeply rooted in his personhood that they have entirely taken over his life and are the driving force in everything he does or does not do. Addiction means there's never enough and in his case drugs or sex.

This could have easily been a docudrama, instead it is a crime/comedy with a bit of drama. McAvoy is simply superb as the central mad hero and we undergo with a him a binging trip in corruption and debauchery where everyone in his life become objects he comes to use for his own gratification.

Despite the comic element being the one that has the most gravity, we get to see the torment that haunts addicted people and he too is a tormented man and his actions are a smokescreen of his anguish with his refusal to get hep only adding to his misery.

Quirky, fast paced and fun this is one heck of a mind trip.

Funny and dramatic at the same time. The main character of the film causes double feelings. On the one hand, he is disgusting and pathetic, but on the other hand, he is lonely and seriously ill. Guilt eats away from the inside of the protagonist. This can be seen from the last phrase: "The rules are the same everywhere." Everyone pays for their actions...

There is no other way that I could describe this film. It is filled with some of the most crazy and strange scenes that I have seen in film. There was weird sex, masturbating, murder, drugs. Pretty much everything offensive that you could think of is in this film.

It made me laugh, cringe and frown at some of the ridiculous stuff that happened in it.

Deep in the storyline though, was an utterly captivating, yet tragic story of a man loosing his mind to drugs, mental illness and grief. In many ways it was this that made the film all the more shocking, but brilliant at the same time.

I came out of the theatre speechless, I had no idea what to make of it or think. Now I have thought about it, I can see how good it really was.

James McAvoy gave a perfect performance in the lead role. Everything about the character that he portrayed was realistic, and I could feel the emotion coming out of him throughout his descent into madness.

This film is not for the faint of heart or easily disturbed, but if you can deal with the weird and wacky, then you are going to love it.

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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Hands up those of you who like swearing, drug abuse and obscene sexual encounters? Put your hands down if you prefer to be indulging in these pastimes instead of watching them. For those of you with your hand still raised stiffly in the air you need to watch Filth!

Starring James McAvoy as Police Officer Bruce Robertson, Filth delves into the psyche of immoral behaviour in order to achieve an overall goal. Christmas is approaching and Bruce and his colleagues (Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Emun Elliot, Gary Lewis) are all up for the promotion to Detective Inspector. Bruce believes he is the odds on favourite to win this position but his deeper insecurities may suggest otherwise. To be able to win this Bruce attempts to manipulate his way through the team, be it sleeping with a colleague's wife and blaming it on someone else or enticing homophobic officers to show their true colours. But is this behaviour due to his passion for the big time job or is Bruce really struggling with other aspects of his life? Other aspects that fill him with guilt, self-loathing and most importantly isolation.

Filth is billed as a comedy but only approach if you realise this comedy comes from crudity and vulgarity. The laughs stem from scenes where Bruce prank calls his friend's wife weekly for no other reason than for the sexual kick. He later meets her to promise he will catch the prankster only to suggest she plays along with the sexual fantasy in an attempt to scare them off. Of course we all know this is only for his own benefit but it is watching the different reaction from Bruce, his friend and the wife that raises the chuckle. The friend is played by Eddie Marsan and he alone brings the less obscene comedic moments. His dance routine whilst on a trip to Hamburg is to be admired as is his chat with Bruce about police oppression.

Marsan is fantastic in his role especially in the later scenes where he becomes the character you fully sympathise with. McAvoy's Bruce is expertly played but the character is one you will not like but one you will enjoy to watch. McAvoy plays completely against type but still brings many of his usual acting qualities. One thing that was familiar was his subtle look into the camera when he knows he has been unbelievably unlawful. This little technique could also be seen in Trance although with very different subtext. What works for McAvoy is his inability to let go of the reigns and really go for it and here he has done that so well. He even manages to bring an emotional side to Bruce as the truth slowly starts to be revealed and it will make an audience question whether you should be feeling sad for this character. This is completely down to McAvoy's acting ability as we can assure you Bruce is not a likable character.

The film draws comparisons to Trainspotting and that is because the script has been adapted from a novel written by the same author, Irvine Walsh. With Trainspotting Walsh's material was expertly handled by Danny Boyle and a fantastic film was born. New director Jon S. Baird can be praised as highly as Boyle for his adaptation here. He has taken on the writing mantle as well as the directing and what he has achieved is a solid film which is worth a watch. The film is nowhere near as good as Trainspotting but where Baird achieves such excellence is in bringing a book to the screen that involved imaginary tape worms and plenty of internal narrative. The book is not of a filmic mould but Baird has done incredibly well in making it so. Bruce's emotional journey is felt through his actions, dialogue and McAvoy's acting, whilst the obscure tapeworm hallucinations have been replaced with a doctor played by Jim Broadbent who seems to have an issue with saying 'yeeess' at the end of every sentence.

When you leave the cinema from this film you will struggle to decide if you actually liked it. Bruce isn't likable and some of the antics may offend so we would be surprised if many people will enjoy watching. Where this triumphs then is that it is a film to be admired. It brings an unlikeable protagonist and makes him magnetising to watch whilst making you chuckle in cringe worthy moments. This is one of those films best enjoyed with a beer or two.

Rating: 3 / 5

Directing: Baird has made conscious decisions that have translated the book to the film very well.

Acting: McAvoy's brilliant playing against type and Marsan brings a likable character to the film.

Script: From tough source material, Jon S. Baird produces a screenplay which fully does it justice.

Cinematography: The imagery resembles the title and brings out a shady side to Edinburgh.

Score: Goes slightly unnoticed due to the nature of the content but works all the same.

Editing: Moves the story along at pace.

Overall: McAvoy steals it as a character you love to watch. A good adaptation but won't be a classic.

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.

Filth, the novel, was exciting and experimental, but because there are so many extremes in it, it is very difficult to sanitise it for a movie going audience. How do you make a talking tapeworm work on film? It is a character in the book. Very difficult. Compromises had to be made and some of the racism, sexism, homophobia etc etc had to be toned down if not cut out completely.

I watched the film at a local (noisy) theatre. The performances were decent and the film was passable as pale reflection of the book, but I felt there were many edited cuts in the film which were bizarre. At one point David Soul (starring as a taxi driver) started singing his big pop hit from the 70's "Silver Lady". Jim Broadbent as Dr Rossi popped in and out of the film without much explanation of why he and Bruce "Robbo" Robertson were having these one to one sessions. Inspector Bob Toal is trying to write a book but it doesn't tie up with the rest of the film. Luckily I have read the book before and know the story well, but if I hadn't, I think I would be a bit confused.

Stealing the show for me, is John Sessions as Chief Inspector Toal. He captures the character of the book as a traditional white police officer out of date in a modern world.

I had such high hopes for this movie after seeing some of the most intriguing trailers I've ever seen. I was not disappointed what so ever.

I liked this title so much I would actually fit it into my top 10 of all time.

Without spoiling much for anyone, it really is filth. The movie definitely earns its 18 rating because at times, it is quite literally hardcore pornography.

Bruce is one of the most complex characters I've ever seen in a movie. It took a while to decipher exactly what was going wrong with him, but it because clear by the end.

I want to make it clear to people going into this movie what they should expect. Expect a lot of violence, a lot of swearing, pornography & masturbation, depression and mental illness. It's a movie for those who don't get offended very easily.

In summary, this movie will make you laugh, it'll make you cringe & it'll make you happy. The overall feeling at the end though, is that you're watching a man lose his mind, & you see his depression take over his body in many different ways.

I'm giving it 10/10 because I thought everything about it was so perfectly done. It achieved exactly what it set out to do, it achieved utter filth.

An on the edge , corrupt cop is heading towards meltdown . His wife has left him , he faces fierce rivalry for promotion but when a murder takes place it offers him the opportunity to achieve his ambitions and better himself as a human being

Reading the above synopsis you'll instantly be reminded of Abel Ferrara's 1992 film BAD LIEUTENANT . It's an obvious redemption plot and being based on a novel by Irvine Welsh and so takes place in the Welsh style . I've never been a fan of Welsh finding him both one note and parochial featuring stories that revolve around Edinburgh lowlife . Lumpen proletarian fantasy marketed for the non Edinburgh bourgeois masses . That said if you're watching a film in Edinburgh and the setting of the film is Edinburgh then at least you can entertain yourself by playing spot the location and in its favour this film has an anti-hero who shares the same surname as me

FILTH plays out very much as you'd expect it to . James McAvoy plays DS Bruce Robertson who is after promotion , drugs and casual sex and is a truly dreadful human being . That said McAvoy brings an empathy to the character and as the redemption part of narrative comes to the fore I did warm to him . If there's a problem with it then it's because it is a story by Irvine Welsh and Jon S Baird fails to disguise this enough . The first half is a bit too loose and we get the usual stylistic stuff you saw in TRAINSPOTTING as in voice over followed by jump cuts to drug taking and hardcore intensive naughty sex . Obviously this is used merely to shock the audience but in an era where terrorists murder aid workers and prisoners of war by cutting off heads with kitchen knives or burning them alive is an audience shocked by people sticking powder up their nose or having casual sex ? It's not like they're hurting other people is it ? It also comes across as crass and juvenile on the part of Welsh and oh so predictable . This is a pity because FILH has its moments even though it's rather uneven and the second half is much better than the first

I'm actually shocked to be writing such a bad review for this title as I was so looking forward to Filth. If this review was based on performances alone, and not the whole package, I wholeheartedly think the whole cast deserve 10 stars. However the film itself was pathetic. Every part of the plot tries to shock. NEWSFLASH we've seen it all before. Im 26 years old n hardly prude but 90% of the film is sex and drugs for the sake of it. The characters are one dimensional which comes off as pantomime in most cases. The plot is unbelievable to the extreme. The whole film tries to be something it just cant live up to. I was waiting the whole way through for something thought provoking or even one original joke. Quite a lot of the film comes across as a pornographic version of The Hangover. Whoever watches this and thinks they're getting a peek into the real world, or getting to peer at the grimier side of life is like the writer, producer and director of this film ...seriousy out of touch. This will probably appeal to the bored middle classes and school children. Quick tip...save your money and watch Jeremy Kyle

We have had a few fairly unremarkable adaptations of Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh's books, supporting the notion that with the one exception of Danny Boyle's phenomenal 'Trainspotting', his material remains pretty much impossible to put on the screen. Indeed, 'Trainspotting' itself was not a direct adaption as such, but rather an extrapolation of bits and pieces of it to make a cohesive narrative. In the Welsh lore, 'Filth' is put up there as one of the most difficult, and so it is with great surprise that Jon Baird's take on the book is not only a good piece of work, but also perhaps one of the most accomplished films of 2013!

Our protagonist, as is so often the case with Welsh, is not a person we would choose to meet. Detective Sargent Bruce Robertson is mean-spirited, racist, sexist, aggressive, vindictive, with a psychiatric disorder and a bitter past that won't let him rest, which he seems most happy to appease with a regular cocktail of drink, cocaine and sexual debauchery behind his colleagues' and family's back. Manipulative and out for himself, Bruce has a plan to appear to be solving the case of a murdered local resident, whilst playing all his colleagues off one another with a view to clearing an easy path for his own promotion to Chief Detective.

There are plenty of treats strewn through 'Filth', little cameos, smart, snappy dialogue, great jokes and wonderful performances from the likes of the ever versatile Jim Broadbent and Eddie Marsan. A subtle, schizophrenic soundtrack underscores so well the dark, cesspit nature of the journey the character is on, it raises the question, again, as to whether Clint Mansell will ever do wrong? The whole thing is shot with a seemingly intentional recklessness; an abandonment of sharp editing and an embrace of a sloppy, rough-around-the edges, almost unfocused approach make a film that feels as disgusting as the vomit spewing from character's mouths, both figuratively and, at times, literally!

The star here, however, is James MacEvoy. There has been much said about his performance being an Oscar courting one; whilst there is no guarantee of that, I am confident in saying this is a career-best from him, and this cannot be overstated. Welsh has said he thinks MacEvoy is "better than De Niro in Taxi Driver", and whilst I do not know if I agree with that, we can certainly understand the comparison. MacEvoy is not a man one might immediately cast in this role, and so it makes it all the more impressive when we watch a performance that simultaneously keeps us at a distance and pulls us close; the actor manages to be completely vile, and yet convince us with an equal conviction that he is a man with a buried and forgotten heart that used to pump warmth; I have not seen this level of complexity so well delivered since Peter Mullan in 'Tyrannosaur'. Scabrous, nasty, cold and angry, yet obviously vulnerable and lost, this is a perfectly balanced, well-rounded performance, and MacEvoy is perhaps most impressive when he is being everything at once! In one such scene, he says, "I used to be good at this job," which could well sum up Robertson's rather sad arc. Whatever your final take on him, we get a complete human being, and not one we ever feel the desire to condemn, despite all his awfulness.

In the face of common opinion that it simply wouldn't work, and after years of development, 'Filth' turns out to be a near masterpiece, whose recognition as such is only made less likely by the inevitable comparison with 'Trainspotting'. It is a ballsy adaption of a hugely admired novel, as unpredictable as its central character and charged with the vitriolic energy of the author's writing. A well balanced juggling act of tones; in lesser hands this would have been a mess! It is not always a pleasant watch, but like the central character, it finds its way to a strange, engaging and even rather emotional resolution. Whilst there is likely to be a good forty percent of casual viewers who are left completely cold, the remaining will see a successful, proudly Scottish film that is by turns dark, shocking, comical and moving, which also goes out on an incredibly catchy and surprisingly fitting 70's hit!

'Filth' is the film we would hail as the Irvive Welsh-penned grenade of British cinema, if only Danny Boyle had not got there first.

I liked the movie sure. However, i got a huge problem with it, and that's we are merging comedy, actual comedy with a serious tone, dark, depressing sad movie. At times it's a bit hard to follow what's going on, but i get most of it.

Our main character is depressed cuz his wife and daughter left him. He then manipulates his friends. It was fun to watch, a goofy movie like Hobo with a Shotgun. The only problem i have with this is the fact that we got a dark depressing story, merged with dark comedy. It does not work. You don't know if you want to laugh or be sad?

Also, you don't know if you want to like your main character or hate him. I'm guessing that was the point. That you got a man that's just down, depressed, you know the reasoning to his pain, but he does terrible stuff.

I don't know if it was just me, but at times it was kinda hard to follow. So many characters. However, i'll say right i never got bored when watching the movie. It will constantly keep you going and think about what's next going to occur.

If you are a friend of funny, thrilling and bizarre movies, you're gonna love this one! First of all, this movie manages to surprise you again and again till the end. It switches between funny, dramatic and thrilling elements. James McAvoy gives an amazing performance (by far the best I've seen from him) as the funny, manipulative, sick, drug-addicted, broken, Cop and manages to portrait every aspect of the character. Another piece of awesome acting is delivered by Jim Broadbent who plays his psychologist. The dialogues between him and James McAvoy are just amazing! The rest of the cast is also decent and the characters are all very special in a refreshing way. The only bad thing i can mention about this movie is, that it has some (but small) longueurs. I can recommend it to everyone who likes movies of this kind and has no problem with movies containing a lot of sex, drugs and f*cked up moments :)

This film tells the story of a policeman who is up for a promotion. However his life spirals out of control, when his drug problem consumes him.

The film is certainly named correctly, as there's a lot of filth on the film. The policeman, played by James McAvoy, is initially portrayed to be a sex maniac. Afterwards, he becomes a trouble maker who stirs up stuff and then insists on fixing the situation. He's a mess up character, and I have no sympathy for him. Even though the film provokes much feelings in me towards a character, there's still no connection between me and the film. I found the plot boring and meandering, as it has no apparent message to convey. It's a disappointment, given the fair number is big name involved in it.

It's been nearly 20 years since Danny Boyle's adaptation of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting and no British film has been quite so instantly iconic with its vibrant and shattering representation of a sub-culture in Great Britain. However, the next major attempt at another adaptation of Welsh's gritty work, Filth, comes close. It matches the neon glaze in the grimy cinematography that's been a dynamic element missing from British cinema since, and paired with the tight edit it's an utter delight to watch. If a guilty delight that is, as almost all our characters are corrupt souls, some more than others. The first half hour is by far its strongest aspect with its hyperbolic yet not over-the-top (yet) delivery on camera, behind camera and in the post-production suite. It's a film that really accomplishes the atmosphere it's shooting for especially when combined with its disturbingly jovial Christmas soundtrack.

However, when the content gets messy, the film does too. Frankly, it's too bloated with characters. I'm sure every one gets their time in the book and they all play a part in the story, but there's far too many. It results in a film that struggles with pacing and flow, constantly being interrupted with a tangent or a strange execution of exposition. It wants to raise question marks but instead it loses me. Even though I love its final moments, I'm not a fan of its twist which I don't think fit the rest of the film. It feels like a transparent attempt to shock me, or at the very most, provide some material for film theory textbooks. Despite this, it all hinges on James McAvoy's devoted and depraved performance, who nails the emotion as hard as the comedy. Filth is the film that McAvoy and Boyle's Trance wanted to be and hopefully he's watching so when he reunites the Trainspotting gang to do Porno, they do it right.

7/10

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 was disgusted and wanted to take a shower with a steel brush." That was how Matthew McConaughey said he felt after reading the script for 'Killer Joe' for the first time. 'Filth', the latest Irvine Welsh adaptation, may provoke a similar response in many viewers, because it is very dark and twisted, with a main character that is homophobic, racist, sexist, misanthropic and misogynistic, rivalling and possibly surpassing Harvey Keitel in Abel Ferrara's 'Bad Lieutenant' as the most despicable on screen cop.

The cop in question is Inspector Bruce Robertson, played magnificently by James McAvoy. After having appeared in 'Welcome to the Punch' and 'Trance' earlier this year, playing two good guys, McAvoy does the opposite, taking on the role of someone steeped in depravity and corruption. Subsequently, he delivers not only his best performance of the year with 'Filth', but also the best performance of his career. Thanks to McAvoy, I ended up sympathising and empathising with Bruce, even though I shouldn't. He is strongly supported by the always- watchable likes of Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan and Shirley Henderson, while Jim Broadbent is delightfully delirious as the psychiatrist that Bruce regularly encounters in his visions.

The plot is loosely concerned with Bruce attempting to get a promotion, but in reality, this is more of a character piece than a straightforward, plot-driven work; in that respect it's superficially similar to Nicholas Winding Refn's 'Bronson'. What we get are series of vignettes (Bruce goes to Hamburg, Bruce goes to a Christmas party, etc.), a structure that can difficult to get right, but Baird does, as every vignette is good, while aspects of Bruce's complex character are explored. Additionally, 'Filth' contains something that you won't find in any other film this year – the sight of David Soul as a taxi driver, bursting into song, singing his hit 'Silver Lady'. 'Filth's boldness makes it not for everyone – its comedy is jet black and scathing, while it doesn't shy away from explicitness or the dark depths of McAvoy's character, as he engages in sex, drugs and well, filth, doing everything from upsetting children to playing incredibly mean pranks on his 'friends'. It's also one of the best films of recent months.

"Filth" is from "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh. If you remember what the latter was like, then you'll have an inkling of what this movie is like. And believe you me, "Filth" features every type of debauchery known to humanity. James McAvoy's corrupt, vicious, manipulative cop makes you feel as if you're walking on eggshells, but you still gotta love him. Throughout much of the movie I couldn't understand what the characters were saying. These are some THICK Scottish accents.

Basically, there's everything to like about this movie. It's a tour of Edinburgh consisting of sex, drugs, and more! There are times when I started wondering if it was even appropriate for me to enjoy the movie, but trust me, even the most WTF scenes are there for a perfectly good reason. Really good.

Also starring Jamie Bell (Tintin in "The Adventures of Tintin"), Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter movies) and Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle in the Harry Potter movies).

I thought it a well-portrayed roller coaster combination of mental sickness, sex, drugs, betrayal, and more brought to the screen in a vivid and entertaining, often surreal show.

Of course if you can't relate to any of this type of subject matter, and would rather not delve in to the mind of a sicko, shedding light on the twisted journey some find themselves on, then you might be just wasting your time.

Maybe yours is a gloriously perfect life. For others there will probably be a glimpse of something to poke at your self and laugh at, especially with all the fine characters in this flick.

Irvine Welsh hates Scotland and he convinced me never to set foot in his wretched country. As in Transpotting, the main character of the movie (based on Welsh's novel) is a Scottish paranoid drug addict, only this time he happens to be a policeman.

Bruce is corrupted, depraved and ready to sink extremely low to get promoted. The rest of the crew he is competing against is not much better, so right from the start my question was "Why should I care?" Then came a massive dose of deja-vu: a repetition of most of the gags seen in Transpotting, only filthier. But the kiss of death is the total lack of dark humour.

The only feature that can make this sort of product bearable is some fun, but this movie is totally unfunny and way OTT with its attempts to outdo the most outrageous scenes seen on screen until now.