Photo by Olga Bas.
Actor James McAvoy joined Film Society's Free Talks to speak a little Filth—the film, that is. The Golden Globe-nominee plays a bipolar, bigoted junkie cop in the crime-comedy in which he hallucinates his way through life while vying for a promotion. “I don't want to go for a pint with him, but I find his life and the experience he has living day to day fascinating,” McAvoy told the Film Society's John Wildman at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater Wednesday evening. “Anyone involved with this film really had a daring sexual appetite to get in bed with it,” he joked to the crowd.
Set in Edinburgh, the film stars McAvoy as Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson, a misanthropic man whose vices include drugs, drink, and sexually abusive relationships. He sees a path to a promotion to Detective Inspector when he is assigned to oversee an investigation into the murder of a Japanese student, but he soon loses his grasp of reality. Robertson suffers hallucinations, but seeks the help of his psychiatrist (Jim Broadbent) who helps him reveal his underlying condition. In the meantime, while wandering the streets, Bruce is taken by the gang responsible for the murder.
Avoiding much of a spoiler, McAvoy said that Filth presents “this larger-than-life antihero with swagger, [but] afterward it's about so much more.” He also praised the production of Filth, which he called “the easiest artistically” from a script that is “one of the best” he has read in his career.
McAvoy will be very present on the big screen starting this weekend. He co-stars in blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past, which will likely dominate the box office when it opens Friday. While working on a big-budget film with Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page and more may be a serious undertaking, McAvoy and his fellow stars apparently found time to get into some antics, continually running from cover from fellow cast wielding BB guns — apparently Jennifer Lawrence was particularly adept.
McAvoy will be very present on the big screen starting this weekend. He co-stars in X-Men: Days of Future Past, which will likely dominate the box office when it opens Friday. And next week, fans will have a chance to see McAvoy again when Filth opens May 30.
Photo by Olga Bas.
