It was just the other day that we were getting excited about the mere possibility of a Trainspotting sequel, when here we are today with a full red-band trailer for Filth, an adaptation of another post-Trainspotting novel by Irvine Welsh. I cannae believe me good luck. To be honest, I never expected to see a clean, sweet boy like James McAvoy playing Bruce Robertson, the filthiest filth of filth, who spends half the first-person novel complaining about his various ball rots and venereal diseases – the only piece of literature I’ve ever read that includes a child-like drawing of a penis. But here he is toplining the Welsh adaptation (which probably made getting it financed a lot easier) from director Jon S. Baird. Baird is also Scottish, so this may require subtitles. RopeofSilicon calls it a “Scottish Bad Lieutenant,” and having read the book, I can’t say that that’s inaccurate. Check out the trailer below, but beware of cursing and brief nudity. I kid, I’m sure you’re used to it.
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?
If you think the trailer editor unfairly chose to focus only on the most vulgar parts, don’t be put off, the whole thing is like that. Think of it as a Scottish Scrotie McBoogerballs. I’m just disappointed about James McAvoy. This would’ve been the perfect role for Mel Gibson.