Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- sardonic
- grotesque
- paranoid
- dark movie night
- crime film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an abrasive, disturbing black comedy elevated by James McAvoy's committed performance, though its difficult material and uneven execution divided opinion.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bruce manipulates colleagues and sabotages rivals to secure a police promotion while progressively losing control of himself.
Bruce's hallucinations, drug habit, and deteriorating grip on reality distort his investigation and personal relationships.
The promotion contest, colleagues' rivalries, stolen partners, and exposed secrets turn Edinburgh's police workplace into a vicious social ecosystem.
Bruce's bigotry, sexual manipulation, substance abuse, and professional misconduct are rendered through an abrasive dark-comic register.
Films like Filth, and why
Bad Lieutenant
shares a corrosive police protagonist, blackly comic crime storytelling, drug-fueled instability, and a bleak psychological descent
The Guard
similarly combines vicious dark humor, criminal investigation, unreliable perception, and a morally degraded central character
Sexy Beast
shares british crime satire, institutional corruption, abrasive comedy, and an antihero spiraling through self-destruction
A Field in England
comparable for its grotesque black comedy, substance abuse, fractured identity, and psychologically punishing antihero narrative
Movie Details
- Director
- Jon S. Baird
- Release Date
- 2013-09-27
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (1982)
Cast
- James McAvoy
- Jamie Bell
- Eddie Marsan
- Imogen Poots
- Brian McCardie
- Emun Elliott
- Gary Lewis
- John Sessions
- Shauna Macdonald
- Jim Broadbent
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel, Warriors and Gangsters Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Filth about?
- A corrupt Edinburgh detective weaponizes colleagues, drugs, and deceit to win a promotion while his collapsing mind turns the investigation inward.
- What is Filth like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Filth as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Filth violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Filth as moderate.
- What did critics think of Filth?
- Critics broadly found the film an abrasive, disturbing black comedy elevated by James McAvoy's committed performance, though its difficult material and uneven execution divided opinion.
- Which films are like Filth?
- Films with a similar feel include Bad Lieutenant, The Guard, Sexy Beast, and A Field in England.
- How long is Filth?
- Filth runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch Filth?
- In United States, Filth streams on fuboTV, Philo, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel, Monsters and Nightmares Amazon Channel, Warriors and Gangsters Amazon Channel.
