Who is the “Dirty Cop” genre for, exactly? Certainly not good cops; dirty cops give ‘em a bad name. Dirty cops themselves? Wouldn’t they see such films as “Dude! Uncool! Don’t let everybody know.” Law abiders? Doubtful. Cynics? Wouldn’t they just see it as: “Why bother with fiction?” Abuse of authority will always have a place in movie plots, but I think there’s more intrigue when it’s political or when the victims are indefensible (like children), don’t you? A fictional bad cop abusing grown-ups, and often ugly grown-ups at that, is a useful background or sidebar, but as the protagonist? Whom do I root for?
For those who saw Split as James McAvoy’s first major delve into psychological disorder, surprise! Edinburgh detective Bruce (McAvoy) comes with more baggage than Heathrow. Mostly, the weight of his internal struggle takes the form of abuse – substance abuse, abuse of power, abuse of friends. The loosely chased plotline of Filth revolves around a vacancy in the Detective Inspector position. Bruce is probably the front runner for the promotion, but seems to approach the conquest like Dick Dastardly – why bother earning it when it’s more fun to sabotage the competition?
When not plotting to undermine his colleagues, Bruce has a full schedule of drinking, drugs, banging the housewife of one peer and crank-calling the housewife of another. Early on, detective Bruce finesses a statutory rape to turn the offender into a snitch and to get a blowjob from the underage victim. Like I said in the first paragraph, I cannot easily identify the dirty cop audience. Bruce himself is not below anything and his badge is used entirely for either hedonistic pleasure or sullying a rival. And this is yet another film in which I’m amazed at how much actual sex a man can have. A fifth of scotch and a pound of blow and he can still go thrice a day? Color me impressed.
Filth is a character study. The more we know about Bruce, the more the film veers into psychological territory through horrifying dreams and hallucinations. People in Bruce’s life will suddenly appear as animals and when Bruce looks in the mirror, his own face is a pig; is it a side-effect of the drug abuse or something deeper? This film is an obvious stepping stone towards Split in which McAvoy plays several distinct roles. Unlike Split, the Filth line between villain and tortured protagonist is blurred, often Bruce can show both in the same scene. Between the two pictures it’s hard to deny James McAvoy’s talent, nor his commitment to the profession. I still, however, have trouble with him as a leading man in a positive role. Look at Split then look at Wanted; which film used McAvoy better? Is that a tribute to the actor or the role? Film history has presented us with plenty of
talented actors who were never meant to be heroes but sometimes get cast there anyway. Two immediate examples are Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce. Have we been mis-using James McAvoy for years? I think so. I think his default friendly countenance has made us all believe that he’s a hero. But when he’s cast as a knight and not a dragon, I guarantee the film could have been better.
As for Filth, well, you can’t possibly be disappointed in a film with such a title, can you? Geez, man, what did you expect? It’s like expecting to like Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant. And Filth is certainly in that vein. To be honest, I don’t even think there was a plot in Filth; it was all about showing us how disgusting one man can be and then how disgusted with himself he can get. If that’s your idea of a cool film, then this is a can’t miss.
♪Snortin’ rocks in a Datsun
I was the law just to have fun
I was the law you’ll be undone
I needed to score with a friend’s hon
I was the law just to have fun
I was the law you’ll be undone
I stop a sec and I feel so bad
Hey, apparition!
I see a swine where my face was glad
I was the law just to have fun
I was the law you’ll be undone
Spreading lies inside stall one
I was the law just to have fun
I was the law you’ll be undone
Going to get that promotion
I was the law just to have fun
I was the law you’ll be undone♫
Rated R, 97 Minutes
D: Jon S. Baird
W: Jon S. Baird
Genre: Bad cop, bad cop
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: The James McAvoy Appreciation Society
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Not-so-bad cops
♪ Parody inspired by “I Fought the Law”
