Having spent a year in Edinburgh, I’m a bit obsessed with Scottish film. The movie Filth is no exception.
Based on a book by Irvine Welsh, it stars James McAvoy as a jaded cop. Like Trainspotting, the film is funny but unrelentingly grim, and its emotional ending is no exception.
However, the musical score is what really makes it exceptional. Clint Mansell and Coco Sumner‘s cover of ‘Creep’ by Radiohead completes the dark tone of Bruce Robertson’s story.
The cover is slower and more restrained than Thom Yorke‘s original. While Colin Greenwood maintains the original is a happy song about “recognising what you are” it’s less positive in Filth.
Although Bruce gains self-awareness by the film’s close, it’s far too late. If anything, he has only become more aware of his isolation. He is left alone with his choices, and the result is anything but encouraging.
While the song is far from cheery, it serves as a phenomenal accompaniment for Robertson’s final speech. The line “she’s running out the door” takes an especially dark meaning within the context of the plot. Overall, a solid if gloomy track!
