Disc Reviews

Filth Blu-ray Review

17th Feb 2014

Adapted from ‘the unfilmable novel’ by Irvine Welsh, Filth is a fest for the mind and eyes. James McAvoy is the manipulative Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson, who spends more time indulging in drugs, alcohol, abusive sexual games and plots to mess with his colleagues and ‘friends’. His main goal is to get the promotion going for the newly opened Detective Inspector role, while destroying and taking out other members of his team on the way. The lines of reality become blurred early on with dream like moments and hallucinations as Bruce starts to unravel and descend into his own world run by his bipolar disorder.

James McAvoy steps out of his normal nice guy and safe roles and brings a powerful performance to the screen. He breathes life into an awful anti hero character that you’re never sure if you should hate or by the end feel sympathy for. For me it was refreshing to see James McAvoy in a role like this – gritty and dirty, you can also see the work he has taken in researching and perfecting Bruce’s mental health problems. The film doesn’t shy away from extreme close ups and the performance in just James McAvoy’s eyes draws you in and shows emotional honesty, you can pull yourself away from the harsh reality.

In a supporting role is Jamie Bell. He has clearly has come a long way from his Billy Elliot role, can we all start treating him like a grown up now? He is great as Ray Lennox and has made that transition into adult roles seamlessly, and I expect to see him take on more challenging roles soon.

Fans of the book will notice the changes from page to screen, there has to be changes to bring it to life. But is full of incredible dark imagery, that mixes fantasy with reality, breaks the fourth wall and with carefully picked songs that relate to the storyline and match so well with the scenes you are watching. There are times you feel so uncomfortable as the tension and darkness rise, but you want to know what happens, it holds on to you and you can pull away. And when you get close to the end, that reveal almost breaks your heart, your torn, this guy has been awful throughout the film and in his downfall you start to change your mind, but know there is something stopping you. And for ‘the unfilmable novel’ Jon S.Baird has managed to bring us a work of art, not your normally ‘pretty’ art but a film people will talk about for a long time to come.

The Bluray has the normal outtakes, interviews, deleted and extended scenes. But the real gem in the extras is the commentary by Jon S.Baird and Irvine Welsh. Full of great stories from set, the background and production of the film. Both are passionate about the novel and it’s journey from bookshelves to screen, the hard work paid off – this has turned out to be a great adaptation.