European Films

After an introductory direct-to-camera moment by Gogol Bordello singer Eugene Hutz, who plays A.K., the singer of a band called Gogol Bordello, the film’s vision widens to follow A.K. and the two other struggling youngsters with whom he shares a flat in London: ballerina-in-training Holly (Holly Weston) and pharmacy assistant Juliette (Vicky Mclure). All three dare to dream big: A.K. wants to reach superstardom with Gogol Bordello, Holly wants to dance with the Royal Ballet and Juliette dreams of going to Africa to help build a brighter future for children there.

But dreams and reality are far apart for all of them, with Holly taking up a job as a pole dancer to make ends meet, Juliette reduced to stealing medicine from her lecherous employer and A.K. making money as a master to paying male slaves. (In an act of selflessness that seems more inspired by the directorial opportunities it may offer than by the innate kindness of the characters, Holly and Juliette occasionally help out A.K. for the multi-character fantasies of his clients.) A.K., who is a part-time philosopher and occasionally breaks through the fourth wall to dispense his Ukrainian pearls of wisdom, believes that filth and wisdom are two sides of the same coin and that one cannot be achieved without the other -- hence the title.

From this schematic template, Madonna spins a yarn that is surprisingly involving for two reasons: an unassuming screenplay and a talented cast. Co-written by Dan Cadan and Madonna, Filth and Wisdom’s screenplay gets a lot of things right, transposing the sketchy central characters into well-chosen situations, explaining who they are and what they want from life and each other in a way that feels organic and natural. Secondly, the director relies heavily on the natural charms and talents of her actors, and if casting is indeed half the director’s job, then Madonna is certainly on her way to becoming a talented director.

While the central trio are treated well, the characters in the subplots are not all that lucky. The story of Juliette’s pharmacist boss Sardeep (Inder Manocha), who is secretly in love with Juliette as a means of escape from the complicated situation at home with his wife and six children, is without surprises but handled well, while an elaborate subplot involving Flynn (Richard E Grant, the only name actor on the film's payroll), a blind gay poet who lives in the same building as the three heroes, feels unfocused. It is never really clear how his story ties into the titular duality of the film and it is telling of Madonna's uncertainty about the character that she does not reign in Grant's performance as she done with her central characters, who all lead far more outrageous lives than the blind man yet all feel more subdued and therefore real.

Humour is also an important asset that livens up the proceedings, from the well-placed musical jibe at herself and Britney Spears to some humorous moments deriving from the weird requests of A.K.'s clients and Holly's pole-dancing antics. Though Madonna explained in the press notes that all three characters represent aspects of herself (or rather her public persona), her sympathy lies most clearly with A.K., who also narrates the story, and not with the two girls, who lack the kind of girl power often associated with the director herself. This bias makes Filth and Wisdom feel a little misogynist at times even as it clearly aims for the kind of crude reality that can indeed be found in the real world. It's hard out there for all girls not called Madonna.

The ending of the film is also something of a surprise in the conventional sense, though in keeping with the unpretentious and functional approach of the screenplay and the technical contributions. Music from Gogol Bordello, Madonna herself and various others is well chosen, with Gogol Bordello's live performance injecting the film with a zany energy that is infectious.

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