James McAvoy's well-rounded performance can't save Filth
The adaptation of critically acclaimed writer Irvine Welsh's (Trainspotting) novel Filth, is a sordid and sleazy tale— that just comes up a little short.
Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson (McAVoy), a bigoted and corrupt policeman, is in line for a promotion and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He is enlisted to solve murder, being threatened by the aspirations of his fellow colleagues, Robertson sets about their ruin underneath the nose of unwitting Chief Inspector Toal.
McAVOY gives a well-rounded and confident performance
The central performance is perfectly cast. James McAvoy gives a well-rounded and confident performance, but is let down by the films tendency to spiral off into the realms of crazy. The wider spectrum of the story doesn't work quite as well as Welsh's previous adaptation, Trainspotting. You can question whether Filth is guilty of trying to recapture the brilliance of that film— but that necessarily isn't Filth's downfall. Filth has a tendency to neglect it's story and embellish you with absurd self-indulgent sex and ghoulish drug habits. McAvoy does his best to keep you engaged with his astute portrayal of Glaswegian cop Bruce Robertson, but it isn't enough to save this film from falling a little flat.
