Filth and Wisdom (Madonna, 2008)

[Barmy]

From Times Online

Exclusive review: Madonna's Filth and Wisdom

February 13, 2008

Today's world premiere was hailed as the hottest ticket in town, but many people at the Berlin Film Festival were expecting Madonna's directorial debut to fail spectacularly. Yet her new career got off to a surprisingly auspicious start without exactly convincing anyone that she should give up her old job.

Filth and Wisdom, a sprawling comedy, is a celebration of London’s ethnic stew, and stars Eugene Hutz as a Ukrainian gypsy with an intensely annoying habit of looking the camera in the eye and spouting gobbets of wisdom that have as much relevance to real life as Chinese fortune cookies. Hutz’s hero, Andriy, shares a dilapidated house with a collection of similarly unlikely characters. Vicky McClure's Juliette works in a chemist shop and steals medicine for African orphans. Holly Weston is a ballerina (also named Holly) and a pole dancer at Beechman’s Exotic Gentleman’s Club. Richard E. Grant is Flynn, a blind professor with a shock of grey hair and rooms crammed with unread books.

Andriy, who dresses up as a neo-Nazi and spanks men for a living, is also the narrator on Madonna’s picaresque tour around the hopes and dreams of the cast. “Without filth there cannot be wisdom,” muses Andriy, tweaking his alarming moustache. “They are two sides of the same coin.” Madonna puts a little too much faith in her writing powers (she earns a co-credit for the script). Most of the filth is actually frothy, life-affirming comedy. The spectacle of Andriy riding a half-naked man around his living-room gives a whole new meaning to the words “horseplay”.

What saves the film is its sheer exuberance, and, of course, the music. Andriy fronts a terrific, throbbing gypsy band (Gogol Bordello) when he’s not punishing grown-up school boys for not doing their homework, and Weston’s pole dancer gives Madonna plenty of tongue-in-cheek opportunities to plug some of her favourite songs. Inder Manocha’s weary Indian chemist has arguably the best moments of comedy. When he’s not ogling his shapely assistant (the beautiful and pure McClure), he is shouted at by his Indian wife.

That said, there is some clunkingly awful acting and a string of scenes that are so stagey they would fall over if they weren’t propped up by the cinema screen. The sight of Grant flinging books off shelves, and then flinging himself onto his carpet weeping tears of frustration, is a collector’s item, and one of the most inadvertently humorous scenes witnessed in Berlin for many a year.

Yet despite its many shortcomings and an ending so mushy and neat it would embarrass Richard Curtis, Madonna has done herself proud. Her film has an artistic ambition that has simply bypassed her husband, the film director Guy Ritchie. She captures that wonderfully accidental nature of luck when people’s lives intersect for a whole swathe of unlikely but cherishable reasons. Altmanesque would be stretching the compliment too far, but "Filth and Wisdom" shows Madonna has real potential as a film director.

[domino harvey]

Did my high school newspaper write that review? The reviewer clearly hated it but is afraid to say so without giving it clunky consolation-praise.

[tavernier]

Her film has an artistic ambition that has simply bypassed her husband, the film director Guy Ritchie.

Very low expectations...

[Belmondo]

Many of us had equally low expectations for Ben Affleck's directorial debut, and all that criticism is now gone baby, gone. It is easy for us guys to criticise Madonna and plenty of it is valid; but this girl's got a pair and you have to admire her for it.

She took hold of her own career from the start and continually reinvented herself and remained on top long after her contemporaries joined Spinal Tap in the "where are they now file". She has been a huge role model for young women who studies now prove tend to lose their self esteem upon entering their teenage years.

And, since I parted ways with the Roman Catholic Church, I happen to love her continual pokes in the eye of the Church. Bad taste? You bet; but, she's got a bigger pair that I do.

The movie doesn't sound good to me, but the review notes that it achieves a certain artistic ambition, and I have learned not to dismiss this woman before I see what her next reinvention is all about.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Richard E. Grant is in this according to IMDB. Personally, I'd prefer a decent album rather than a movie, but at least this is a little more respectable than stunts at the VMAs.

[tavernier]

From Reuters:

"I have always been inspired by the films of Goddard, Visconti, Passolini and Fellini and hope that I may one day make something that comes close to their genius," she wrote in a statement, listing four great film makers and misspelling two.

[domino harvey]

Hilarious!
She's a fucking joke and no I don't have to give her any admiration, she never even succeeded at making a decent pop song much less anything else within throwing distance of art

[flyonthewall2983]

"I have always been inspired by the films of Goddard, Visconti, Passolini and Fellini and hope that I may one day make something that comes close to their genius," she wrote in a statement, listing four great film makers and misspelling two.

You can take the girl out of Michigan, but you can never take the Michigan out of the girl.

I must admit I have an affinity for some of her 90's material, and don't consider it at all to be a guilty pleasure. But I doubt if this film sees the light of day I'll give it a shot. Frankly, I never finished the article the OP put here.

[Barmy]

Maybe she meant Paulette Goddard.

[Belmondo]

Hilarious!
She's a fucking joke and no I don't have to give her any admiration, she never even succeeded at making a decent pop song much less anything else within throwing distance of art

Of course, you don't have to give her any admiration, but here is a brief history on why you should:

MOST OF RECORDED HISTORY UNTIL RECENTLY - no one gives a shit what women think about anything.

RECENTLY - the "woman's point of view" is sought after as a courtesy.
MORE RECENTLY - seeking the "woman's point of view" is considered absurdly sexist and abandoned in favor of finding real empowerment for women.

TODAY - women achieve some degree of real empowerment and we learn that few of them give a shit what anyone on this forum thinks about anything. They probably think that guys who tend to dismiss things out of hand and who use the words "fuck" and "shit" as often as possible are the ones who need some seasoning before being given any admiration.

[domino harvey]

Madonna's brand of empowerment in the 80s was to be as sexually appealing to males as possible, I'm not sure what kind of step forward you are equating her with. I also don't appreciate the suggestion in your post that I or the board as collective is misogynistic simply because we don't like Madonna.

[Barmy]

Wow are the censors that run this Board going to be pissed at this thread. This thread is for discussing the oeuvre of Madonna as an auteur, NOT whether Borderline > Holiday.

[Belmondo]

Madonna's brand of empowerment in the 80s was to be as sexually appealing to males as possible, I'm not sure what kind of step forward you are equating her with. I also don't appreciate the suggestion in your post that I or the board as collective is misogynistic simply because we don't like Madonna.

Positively no suggestion of misogny from me and (since I've gotten in touch with my feminine side), I'll apologise, although my remarks were meant as humorous.
On another thread, you'll find that I'm the guy who just admitted to seeing "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" in its original presentation on the Cinerama screen and you have my full assurance that several younger generations have done a hell of lot better job than mine ever did in dealing with issues of this type.

But, I will continue to disagree with you on dismissing what's her name out of hand and I stick with my thoughts in my original post.

[Marcel Gioberti]

I don't think misogyny is an open problem that I've witnessed on this forum, but phallocentricity is definitely on the menu.

[tavernier]

Madonna's brand of empowerment in the 80s was to be as sexually appealing to males as possible

and she failed at that too

[colinr0380]

I also don't appreciate the suggestion in your post that I or the board as collective is misogynistic simply because we don't like Madonna.

Yeah - I hated women long before I hated Madonna!

(I actually don't mind Madonna's music but don't exactly jump for joy these days on hearing that she is in a new film! )

[Barmy]

An IMDB review:

I've seen this film five or six times now, and still feel excited when i have the chance to see it again.

A great story, and some really interesting situations. Some funny moments, some sad moments, all kinds of emotions are covered, and by the end of the film i found my self caring about the characters.

The picture is beautifully gritty, the sound powerful, and the music perfectly chosen.

Make sure you go see it on the big screen in 5.1 surround, it would still be good on your telly, but not a patch on how it was made to be seen and heard.

A definite watch if you are, like me, a fan of Gogol Bordello's music.

[domino harvey]

Great headline

[tavernier]

How many Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame inductees have also made good directors?

[rs98762001]

An IMDB review:

I've seen this film five or six times now, and still feel excited when i have the chance to see it again.

A great story, and some really interesting situations. Some funny moments, some sad moments, all kinds of emotions are covered, and by the end of the film i found my self caring about the characters.

The picture is beautifully gritty, the sound powerful, and the music perfectly chosen.

Make sure you go see it on the big screen in 5.1 surround, it would still be good on your telly, but not a patch on how it was made to be seen and heard.

A definite watch if you are, like me, a fan of Gogol Bordello's music.

I assume this was written by Madonna herself?

[tavernier]

Nah...too well-written.

[Antoine Doinel]

Even Madonna's best music is written by other people.

[flyonthewall2983]

...or stolen by Lenny Kravitz.

[Antoine Doinel]

Madonna is eyeing an iTunes release for the film.

[Barmy]

Filth is opening theatrically at IFC in Manhattan on October 17, for an Oscar™ qualifying run. =D>