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Filth and Wisdom

Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 21 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Drama | Romance
Written by: Dan Cadan
Directed by: Madonna
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 17, 2008
DVD: September 29, 2009
Running Time: 81 minutes, Color
Origin: UK
Language(s): English | Russian
Summary
RATING: Not Rated
Starring Ade, Olegar Fedoro, Gogol Bordello, Richard E. Grant, Eugene Hutz, Vicky Mclure, and Holly Weston
Madonna's directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, is a hilariously sexy tale of three roommates who must delve into mischievous and naughty behavior in pursuit of bigger and brighter futures. A Ukrainian immigrant, A.K., finances his dreams of 'trans-continental superstardom' with his band, Gogol Bordello, by turning tricks as a role-playing cross dresser. As A.K. literally whips the privileged of London into shape, he also secretly pines for the object of his affection, Holly, an aspiring ballerina looking for her big break while moonlighting as a slippery stripper. Meanwhile, Juliette steals medicine from her pharmaceutical job in hopes of quenching her dreams of helping Africa's youth. Filth and Wisdom is every bit as erotic and playful as it is poignant and touching, revealing the universal struggles we all face in our pursuits of happiness. (IFC Entertainment)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Impossibly arty and, at times, narratively incoherent, Filth and Wisdom still has its goofy charms.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Scott Foundas
There's an undeniably funky charm and abiding can-do spirit to this loose-knit portrait of three London flatmates trying to make their way in the world.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The movie is short on wisdom, but it might have gotten by if it had had better filth.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
A charming but silly love letter to a vanished era of urban bohemia?
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
Madonna's directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, feels more like a collection of scenes than a fully drawn film.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Joshua Katzman
Madonna, making her directorial debut, aims for the romping irreverence of Richard Lester's 60s comedies, and though she lacks the formal control to pull it off, this is a charming mess.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Worst of all, the movie's simply not very shocking. Madonna has made a career out of toying with image and ego, but this is a vanity project in the smallest sense possible.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
It's rather sweet to think of Filth and Wisdom as Madonna's reconnection to her own boho Manhattan striver self a generation ago, and I did enjoy the last five minutes or so, when the movie essentially stopped and Hutz's band, Gogol Bordello, took over.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Manohla Dargis
Not that Madonna has gone in for originality, which isn't really her thing: rather, instead of repurposing a genre, she has riffled through the art-house catalog for inspiration, as evidenced by the film's intentionally grubby visual texture, jumpy editing, direct-address commentary, freeze frames and other tricks.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
With Filth and Wisdom, the Material Girl has now spliced the title of film writer and director into her list of accomplishments, but the result is, well, immaterial.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein
Filth & Wisdom is dead in the water, an excruciating bore even at a compact 84 minutes.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Madonna presents the three leads as flawed but essentially decent and redeemable, but they're bound up in a story that's meant to affirm a vague set of values. If she needs to justify the "Sex" book by charting her own contrived path from filth to heavenly wisdom, that's fine. But she should do it on her own time.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Reportedly, the movie began life as a short film, and if it actually ran for 22 minutes with a few commercial breaks, like a good sitcom should, Filth and Wisdom could be bearable. At 84 minutes, the movie feels both overpadded and underdeveloped.
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Ray Bennett
Ragged, uneven and potholed with some dire dialogue and performances.
Read Full Review >Variety Leslie Felperin
Ineptly written and helmed story of three Londoners, although quite bad, does have a few redeeming features.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Anthony Lane
Madonna's mess of a movie grabs at the rub and rancor of multiculturalism, which it proceeds to squash into a litter of clichés, or, more simply, insults.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Neely Tucker
The only thing this movie should lead you to is the nearest exit.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jay H gave it a5:
Very unusual, but the film is a bit of a scattered mess. The cast is quite good and rather fascinating though. Curiously interesting film, but on the whole it doesn't work.
paddy a gave it a0:
Absolute S**T. Really. Please, avoid this at all costs. The woman has as much celluloid creativity in her whole body that I have on my fingernail...and that's my LITTLE finger..nail. You can't outdo Guy here Madgonna, sorry...you lose. Read the Reviews...they suck...bad.
Ed A. gave it a0:
As a seasoned movie goer, I have seem some schmuck before, but this film was beyond the pale. I took my parents to see The Duchess, but we turned up 30 minutes late...the only other offering was a film called Filth and Wisdom. Sooooo....to cut a long story short, my Father (only 61) actually fell asleep 20 minutes in, about a third of the few people actually watching the film, walked out. Plot...what plot? Dialogue....toe curlingly bad. Absolute nonsense and the biggest steaming pile of....drivel, that I have ever seen. With all the media intent on the forthcoming Ritchie zing bang...Madonna should focus on being a good Mother to her children. How the hell does she have any time for them!! As my Mother said when she read the paper announcing the Ritchie split....''So, she has fired him form the job of Husband?'' Hysterical.
