Marina Antunes [Celluloid 04.11.13] crime comic



Bad cops are on the rise and though John Michael McDonagh's The Guard had a prickly leading character, beyond his drinking and occasional inappropriate remarks, he was a nice enough chap. That certainly doesn't seem to be the case with Bruce Robertson, the lead in Jon S. Baird's Filth.

Adapted by Baird from Irvine Welsh's novel, it's the story of a bipolar cop (James McAvoy as Bruce Robertson), who also happens to be a junkie and a bigot, who's trying to secure himself a promotion and reclaim his family. Too bad things don't seem to be going particularly well for him what, with all the coke and hookers and whatever else.


McAvoy is leading a fantastic cast which includes Imogen Poots, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent and the great Eddie Marsan, through a maze of badness that is reminiscent of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. There are no "Shoot him again! His soul's still dancing!" lines in this trailer but it definitely looks like an adaptation of Irvine Welsh's work: it's dirty, crude and darkly funny. I wouldn't have it any other way.

No US distributor yet for Filth but I expect that should change in the near future. Our UK friends will have the chance to see the nastiness unfold in September.

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