Customer Ratings & Reviews

To the ranks of twisted anti-hero lawmen—to the hall of fame that includes Harvey Keitel's Bad Lieutenant in the film of the same name, Michael Chiklis' Vic Mackey in The Shield, Ian McShane's Al Swearingen in Deadwood and, before he got cuddly, Dennis Franz's Andy Sipowicz in NYPD Blue—let us add James McAvoy's Bruce Robertson, the drug-addled, megalomaniac Det. Sergeant bucking for promotion on the Edinburgh police force in writer/director Jon S. Baird's Filth. Nothing in McAvoy's previous work, whether as the young Charles Xavier in the X-Men prequels, the reluctant assassin-trainee in Wanted or the wrongly accused lover in Atonement, suggested such gusto in embracing depravity. Depravity is familiar territory for Scottish author Irvine Welsh, who wrote the original novel of Filth, which had seemed to be unfilmable until Baird and his producing partner, Ken Marshall, approached Welsh with their concept. (Eventually there would be several dozen producers and executive producers, including Welsh and McAvoy.) Welsh wrote Trainspotting, which was memorably filmed by director Danny Boyle in a hallucinatory style that captured the highs and lows of drug addiction and featured Ewan McGregor's heroin-addled dive into "the worst toilet in Scotland". As revolting as the scene remains, Boyle also made it darkly funny and visually arresting, and Baird seemed to have a similar take on Filth, whereas other potential adapters aimed for something unrelentingly grim and gritty. With Welsh's blessing, Baird set about making the major changes required for the novel's successful transition to the screen. McAvoy's involvement and Welsh's endorsement helped attract financing and additional talent, even though Baird himself had only one feature film to his credit, the 2008 bio-pic Cass. Released in the fall of 2013 in the U.K., Filth was a major hit in Scotland and did respectable business throughout Great Britain. In the United States, it is being distributed by Magnolia Pictures through video-on-demand, a limited theatrical release and now on Blu-ray.

Crazy, surreal nightmare of a movie propelled by McAvoy's brilliant performance as a detective slowly coming unhinged while working a case around the holidays and angling for a promotion. The humor is about as pitch black as it gets, and McAvoy's character will probably offend just about everyone who watches this. If you're not easily offended by crude humor and language, check this one out.

James McAvoy gives the performance of his career in this twisted movie that will have you cringing at times but makes it impossible to turn away if for no other reason than to see what depraved thing he will do next.

The plot was interesting and very engaging. I did enjoy the acting and the action.

A good movie with great actors, very entertainiung

As good an adaptation of the novel as I could have hoped for. While the film may not be for everyone if you enjoy the work of Irvine Welsh or are a fane of black/dark comedy this film will not disappoint. The cast is wonderful and James McAvoy becomes the character of Bruce. Don't miss this one a true gem.

A dark comedy with many funny moments, I would recommend

A well-excecuted adaptation of the Irvine Welsh novel.

I'm a huge Welsh fan and although the film strays ever so slightly from the novel, it is well worth adding to any collection. Violence, drugs and parasites...what's not to love?

I've been looking forward to seeing this movie since I saw the trailer and thankfully I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed this movie and am glad I bought it.

just as the title suggests, filthy. very offensive while staying sharp and whitty. I really enjoyed this movie. def. worth a watch

Movie kept my interest through the end. Nothing memorable just killed some time. But I will keep the copy I bought. Its a renter.

My 5 stars are for James McAvoy. He's BRILLIANT in this weird, sick movie. You want something twisted, this is the one.

Seeing James McAvoy in a role like this was just funny. After only seeing him as Professor X and Victor Frankenstein, this was something fresh and funny.

Filth is very similar to Wolf of Wall Street in terms of the humor and content. Very dark and troubled characters but the story is very funny.

This was an interesting movie to watch. It got a little slow at times, but overall it was ok.

Weird, weird movie, but that's more or less it's selling point; enjoyable nonetheless.

Good cast and offers an interesting and odd story. Dark humor in the vein of Transporting.

typical british movie little action a little wired but it is ok to pass the time

I didn't care for the overall movie that much, but McAvoy is fantastic.