''Filth'' is a 2013

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

written and directed by

Jon S. Baird Jon S. Baird (born 9 November 1972) is a Scottish film director. Born and raised in Aberdeenshire, he began his career at BBC Television. Education Baird studied at the University of Aberdeen in the 1990s, where he graduated with an MA in Po ...

, based on

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'' was made into a Trainspotting (film), film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, ...

's 1998 novel ''

Filth Filth or The Filth may refer to: Common uses * Dirt, unclean matter * Police officer, a pejorative in British slang Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Filth'' (film), a 2013 film based on the novel * ''Filth'', an alternative title for '' ...

''. The film was released on 27 September 2013 in Scotland, 4 October 2013 elsewhere in the United Kingdom and in Ireland, and on 30 May 2014 in the United States. It stars

James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor and director. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his film career began. His notable television work inclu ...

Jamie Bell Andrew James Matfin Bell (born 14 March 1986) is an English actor. He rose to prominence for his debut role in ''Billy Elliot'' (2000), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, becoming one of the youngest winners of ...

, and

Jim Broadbent James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as a character actor for his many roles in film and television. He has received various accolades ...

. ''Filth'' marked the final film role of

David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943 – January 4, 2024) was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the Americ ...

, in a cameo role. Set in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the film follows

misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude tow ...

Detective Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the Brit ...

investigating a murder case, beset with mental health problems following the end of his marriage. He suffers from

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...

, feelings of guilt over the death of his brother, a newfound need to

cross-dress Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...

as his wife, and (eventually)

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas or ruminations about the possibility of dying by suicide.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal i ...

Plot

Edinburgh

Bruce Robertson, a scheming, manipulative,

bully, spends his free time indulging in drugs, alcohol, abusive sexual relationships, and "the games" – his euphemism for vindictive plots he hatches to cause trouble for people he dislikes, including many of his colleagues in the

Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fett ...

. Bruce also delights in bullying and taking advantage of his mild-mannered friend Clifford Blades, a member of Bruce's

masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

lodge, whose wife, Bunty, is the target of his repeated

obscene phone call An obscene phone call is an unsolicited telephone call where a person uses profane and/or sexual language to interact with someone who may be known to them or may be a complete stranger. Making obscene telephone calls for sexual arousal or other ...

s. He only shows genuine warmth to Mary and her young son, the widowed wife and child of a man whom he tries and fails to resuscitate after he suffers a heart attack in the street. As the story begins, Bruce's main goal is to gain a promotion to become

Detective Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

(DI), the path to which appears to open when he is assigned to oversee the investigation into the murder of a Japanese exchange student. However, Bruce slowly loses his grip on reality as he works the case and has more and more vivid hallucinations. It is ultimately revealed through dream-like exchanges with Dr. Rossi, Bruce's psychiatrist, that he is on medication for

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

and has repressed immense feelings of guilt over a childhood accident that led to the death of his younger brother. We learn his wife Carole has left him and is denying him access to his daughter Stacey. These domestic issues sparked his desperate bid for promotion, played a part in his unusual displays of kindness toward Mary and her son, and have also led him to start cross-dressing as his wife when off duty in order to "keep her close" to him. While wandering the streets on such an occasion, Bruce is kidnapped by a street gang led by the thuggish Gorman – who are responsible for the murder – and badly beaten. However, he manages to kill Gorman by throwing him through a window and is found by his colleagues. Bruce not only misses out on the promotion as a result of the events, but is in fact demoted to

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

and is reassigned to uniform, while rookie Ray Lennox is promoted to Detective Inspector. Afterwards, Blades receives a tape of Bruce apologising. Bruce then prepares to take his own life by hanging, but is interrupted at the last moment by Mary and her son knocking at his front door. He then breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance dramatic convention, convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this "wall", the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. ...

and addresses the audience repeating his catchphrase – "same rules apply" – and laughs as the chair slips from under him.

Cast

Production

Welsh's novel was published in 1998, but over the following years the project was passed between producers and acquired a reputation of being "un-filmable".

Music

Track listing

Source: Other notable pieces include * ''Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67: I. Allegro con brio'' * ''"Libiamo Ne'lieti Calici (Brindisi)'' * ''Sandstorm'' * '' Mr. Vain'' * Theme from ''Elvira Madigan'' * ''Les noces de Figaro, K. 492: Ouverture'' * ''

La donna è mobile "" (; "Woman is fickle") is the Duke of Mantua's canzone from the beginning of act 3 of Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''Rigoletto'' (1851). The canzone is famous as a showcase for tenors. Raffaele Mirate's performance of the bravura aria at the opera' ...

Reception

Box office

The film earned £250,000 in the box office revenue during its opening weekend in Scotland, reaching number one in the charts. It grossed £842,167 ($1.4m) in the following weekend, when it went on general release throughout the United Kingdom. The film ultimately ended up grossing $9.1 million worldwide.

Critical response

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Filth 2013 black comedy films 2013 crime comedy films 2013 crime drama films 2013 comedy-drama films 2010s Christmas comedy-drama films 2010s crime comedy-drama films 2013 independent films 2013 films 2013 LGBTQ-related films 2010s psychological films 2010s police comedy films British black comedy films British Christmas comedy-drama films British crime comedy-drama films British independent films Cross-dressing in British films English-language German films English-language Belgian films English-language Swedish films Films about bipolar disorder Films about drugs Films based on British novels Films directed by Jon S. Baird Films produced by Trudie Styler Films scored by Clint Mansell Films set in Edinburgh Films shot in Edinburgh Icon Productions films Lionsgate films Scottish comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films Films about bullying 2010s Belgian films LGBTQ-related crime comedy-drama films English-language crime comedy-drama films English-language black comedy films English-language independent films English-language Christmas comedy-drama films Films based on works by Irvine Welsh