Filth

In Edinburgh, Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson wants a promotion and sets every colleague against every other to get it. There is a murder investigation, but what we actually follow is his mind coming apart. It is adapted from Irvine Welsh's 1998 novel, long considered unfilmable until Jon S. Baird wrote and directed it. The whole film rests on James McAvoy. The character's borderline personality disorder and his guilt over his brother's death move so far to the centre that in the second half they start distorting the image itself. Jamie Bell and Jim Broadbent are in support. A brief appearance by David Soul turned out to be his last film role; he died in 2024. It opened at number one in Scotland with 250,000 pounds and grossed 9.1 million dollars worldwide. Reviews split. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 67 percent with a consensus that it lives up to its title splendidly, and Metacritic at 56. Who it is for: viewers who like Welsh adaptations and black comedy at its harshest. Who it is not for: anyone looking for a character to sympathise with. The film withholds that until very late, and some viewers will quit before it arrives.