Marking the latest big screen adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s work, Filth sees James McAvoy leading a stellar cast for writer-director Jon S. Baird’s sophomore feature.
With the film set to be released on our shores later this year, Lionsgate have debuted the first trailer, and it’s just as red-band and unsuitable for work as you’d expect from an adaptation of Welsh’s work.
A bipolar, bigoted, junkie cop manipulates and hallucinates his way through the festive period, until he finally meets his match… himself.
Scheming Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy), a bigoted and corrupt policeman, is in line for a promotion and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Enlisted to solve a brutal murder and threatened by the aspirations of his colleagues, including Ray Lennox (Jamie Bell), Bruce sets about ensuring their ruin, right under the nose of unwitting Chief Inspector Toal. As he turns his colleagues against one another by stealing their wives and exposing their secrets, Bruce starts to lose himself in a web of deceit that he can no longer control. His past is slowly catching up with him, and a missing wife, a crippling drug habit and suspicious colleagues start to take their toll on his sanity. The question is: can he keep his grip on reality long enough to disentangle himself from the filth?
McAvoy is joined by a terrific ensemble, led by Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Emun Elliott, Martin Compston, and Kate Dickie.
Baird is directing from his own script, returning behind the camera for only his second film, after making his debut back in 2008 with Cass.
Welsh’s original 1998 novel spawned a sequel a decade later, entitled Crime, and it would be interesting to see if it would get the big screen treatment in turn if Filth proves to be the success we hope it to be. The film marks the fourth adaptation of Welsh’s work in cinemas – following Trainspotting, The Acid House, and Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy – and with strong talents on all sides, it’s a must-see movie later this year.
Filth is set to be released on our shores this autumn/fall, and we’re definitely looking forward to its arrival. Still no word yet on a US release date, but hopefully it will arrive before the year’s end, too. For now, here’s the first trailer to set the mood. And remember, this is all kinds of red-band, with an 18-rating from BBFC. So be sure to come back later if you’re reading this at your desk. Enjoy.
Find out more and follow the film on the official Facebook page here or on the offical site here. Remember this very NSFW!
