'Filth' starring James McAvoy and Jamie Bell - red band trailer review
Filth Directed by: Jon S. Baird Starring: James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: TBA
Trailer Score: 7/10
Thoughts by TSR: I would not be entirely surprised if Jon S. Baird's Filth (based on a novel by Irvine Welsh, the writer of "Trainspotting") ended up being a relatively poor film. That being said, I had a smile on my face and chuckled a number of times during the trailer. So, if nothing else, it certainly looks like it should be entertaining. When I glanced at the plot description it made it sound like it would be a very dark and dreary story of a bad cop doing bad things. I guess I missed the part where it's a comedy, and the lengths this trailer goes to show how morally corrupt Bruce Robertson is has a certain – forgive me – filthy charm.
A lot of that rests on the shoulders of James McAvoy. I had never heard of this film, so the only reason I was at all curious to check it out was that the cast included names such as McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Imogen Poots, and Eddie Marsan. Sadly, McAvoy is the only thing other than Marsan's glasses that actually makes an impression. But what an impression McAvoy makes. The trailer's frenetic editing helps him out with some chances to crank the reckless abandon up to eleven. All of the stuff McAvoy does between the intertitles "Pervert," "Alcoholic," "Rude," and "Psycho" is amusingly crazy. I was worried that after "Cop" came on it would lead to a change in tone where it did become more of a dark character study. Luckily those fears were proven false when Scissor Sisters' "Filthy/Gorgeous" (excellent song choice, by the way) picked right back up. I'm in. Bring on the Filth.