James Christopher at the Berlin Film Festival
2 for 1 tickets to Casablanca, this coming Monday
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.
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The movie is surprisinly good!
Of course you see every minute that is was not directed by someone who has done this job for 30 years.
But Madonna obviously never wanted to make the best film in the world. This was meant to be a 20 minute short which became a full movie. It is a nice try and it is fun!
Mark, Hamburg,
It's crap. End of story.
Ambrosia Sakkadas, London, England
Madonna is the most famous and criticised woman in the world. Not to forget she works harder than anyone and has been in the spotlight for over 25 years now, having best selling records, books, awards - including a Golden Globe -, world tours, etc.
That said, the fact that her directorial debut hasn't been treated too badly by the same critics that have been mauling her since she hit the silver screen for the second time says an awful lot on this film's behalf which I hope I get a chance to see and judge by myself.
Libgera, London,
I agree that this review seems internally contradictory. I assume this is a result of him thoroughly enjoying a movie he already had the knives out for, like the guiltiest of pleasures. That or he is trying to make excuses for something truly dreadful due to some, as yet unknown, ulterior motive. Madonna would have been best served releasing the film under a pseudonym as that would be the only way it could be judged in it's own right, not as a product of people's preconception of the woman herself.
Rick T, Dubai, UAE
Despite having not yet seen the finished film, I was lucky enough to witness Madonna at work directing in London's Exmouth Market last year.
She was certainly the one in total control of what was going on and this is surely to be reflected in the final film as being evidently her vision.
She even made time to wander and chat to people hanging around and interested shopkeepers/stallholders. Not something you would expect from the most famous woman in the world.
Ben, London, England
Don't know about Madonna, but Eugene Hutz has me drooling over the prospect of going to see this movie. He is one hell of a funny guy!
Evreitor, Singapore, Singapore
Madonna has been overrated since about 1984 ????
24 years of being overrated - that's not bad. Are you sure you got your facts right. ?
Anybody whose songs reach the Top 10 for over 20 years simply cannot be overrated, unless the whole world has got it wrong. In this instance David, I think you may have.
She's a genius, a superb singer, actress and above all performer who has delighted my brain cells since about 1984
Greg, Istanbul, Turkey
Madonna has been overrated since about 1984. I'm supre plenty of synchophants will shill this film but it sound smind bendingly awful. I'll give it a miss.
David Powell, Ocean City, New Jersey USA (All the way)
Gee, this review is clunkingly awful! The film is good, it's bad, funny when it's supposed to be serious, Madonna has potential, yet doesn't convince anyone that she should give up her day job....umm, okay, whatever.
Sophia, Florida, USA
She's one groovy lady!
Jasper, London,
Cant wait to see it
Fiona McCormick, Limassol, Cyprus
Very cool!
John, Akron, USA/Ohio
OK, so let me get this straight. The acting was terrible, the script cringemaking and the direction 'sprawling'. Hmmm, yeah, really sounds like a film worthy of three stars. What are you trying to get? An exclusive with the woman herself?
Emma, London,
good for you Madonna! I love you either way, but am so proud that you have a hit on your hands!
Joey, savannah, ga