Shortly after the success of Danny Boyle‘s generation-defining classic Trainspotting, plans were put into motion to adapt author Irvine Welsh‘s 1998 novel, Filth, into a big-screen film. But the book’s challenging narrative and edgy themes earned it the reputation of being “un-filmable.” The project languished in development hell for years, before writer-director Jon S. Baird jumped on board with James McAvoy attached to star as the protagonist, a detective in Edinburgh who slowly loses his grasp on reality, riddled with guilt and stuck in a system not meant for transgressors such as himself. The movie debuted theatrically in 2013, earned mixed reviews and did unremarkable business at the box office. In case you haven’t seen it yet, you’re running out of time, because Filth is set to leave Netflix in the United Kingdom at the end of November.
The film earned just under $10 million globally in its theatrical run, much less than the nearly $80 million that Trainspotting was able to gross several years prior. By 2013, McAvoy was already a well-established Hollywood star, having headlined films such as Atonement and Wanted, and having played the iconic role of Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class. Filth opened to mixed reviews, with many pointing out that it could possibly be too unpalatable for general audiences. It’s currently sitting at a 66% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Warped, grimy, and enthusiastically unpleasant, Filth lives up to its title splendidly.” Collider’s review at the time described the film as “third-rate Guy Ritchie.”
James McAvoy Has a Knack for Playing Unhinged Characters
Welsh subsequently wrote a follow-up novel, titled Crime, which remains un-adapted. His Transpotting sequel, Porno, was partially used as the source material for Boyle’s T2: Trainspotting, which reunited the cast of the original film and debuted theatrically in 2017. McAvoy went on to earn some of the best reviews of his career for his performance in M. Night Shyamalan‘s Split, which was released in 2016. Just last year, in 2024, he played yet another unhinged character in the English-language remake of Speak No Evil, which emerged as a critical and commercial success.
Also starring Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan, Imogen Poots, and Jim Broadbent, Filth is available on Netflix until the end of November. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
October 3, 2013
Runtime
97 minutes
