8/18/2019 Analysis of James McAvoy in 'Filth'

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An Analysis of James McAvoy in the 2013 lm, Filth.

I have selected to analyse James McAvoy’s performance as the corrupt detective, Bruce

Robertson, in the 201 !lm, "ilth#

McAvoy created the character of Bruce$ !rstly, by chan%in% the &ay he spo'e, movedand loo'ed# (e %re& a beard to %ive Bruce the rou%h and ready loo' but also mana%edto ma'e himself loo' rather sic'ly &ithout the use of ma'e up as if he is tired and underthe in)uence of a lot of dru%s, &hich the character of Bruce &as# McAvoy &as born in

*cotland and so has a *cottish accent# (e,ho&ever, altered his dialect sli%htly for the roleof Bruce# (is &ords became harsher, his vo&elsbecame harder and the volume of his voiceappeared louder# (o&ever, this &as not entirely

the case as McAvoy’s voice &as not louderunless he &as shoutin%$ he merely added a lotmore po&er behind the &ords he &as sayin%#McAvoy embodied the character by &al'in%&ith his shoulders further bac' + &hich sho&edthat Bruce &as a proud and coc'y character and hips leadin% him + &hich complimented

Bruce’s dialo%ue &hich &as predominantly to do &ith se- or his promotion# McAvoy alsouses %estured to accentuate particular &ords or phrases# "or e-ample, he may salute&hen %reetin% or leavin% one of his victims and &ill .uite often touch the arm of theperson he is spea'in% to# Althou%h, &hen Bruce is e-periencin% %enuine emotions suchas sadness, happiness or an%er then his he either becomes .uite frantic and his%estures hold less meanin% or he &ill stand still# McAvoy %ives Bruce a very naturallymischievous e-pression# (e al&ays loo's li'e he is up to somethin%# /ven &hen he isabout to commit suicide, in the last fe& moments of the !lm, &hich is an incrediblyemotional moment, Bruce still has a nau%hty %limmer to his eye see belo& ri%ht#McAvoy also uses his dialo%ue e ectively by not dra&in% attention to &hen Bruce usese-pletives or insults# 3uite often, actors may emphasis e-pletives but, because everyother &ord that Bruce says &ill o ensive to some de%ree, McAvoy says it as a normalperson may comment about the &eather so, &hen Bruce really is an%ry, you 'no&because there is a lot more emphasis on the e-pletives that he uses#

McAvoy’s performance impressed me throu%hout$ ho&ever, I &as particularly impressedin the !nal moments of the !lm in &hich Bruce is preparin% to commit suicide afterlosin% everythin%# 4he scene be%ins &ith Bladesey, played by /ddie Marsan, sittin%do&n to &atch a recorded video of Bruce# Bruce is dressed in uniform, sits do&n andthen be%ins to spea'# "or the !rst time in the !lm, you see Bruce spea'in% veryhonestly# (is voice is a lot calmer and softer# 5espite the fact that he is stillin% pic'in%on Bladesey, it is in a lot 'inder &ay$ in the &ay friends do pic' faults and call eachother names# It is a lot less cruel and cold compared to the &ay Bruce has behaved inthe rest of the !lm# 6hile this is %oin% on, &e see snippets of a very solemn loo'in%Bruce, standin% on the same chair and tyin% a scarf around his nec', preparin% to ta'ehis o&n life &hich is such a bi% contrast to the li%ht heartedness of the video &hereBruce is tellin% Bladesey to 7%et contact 8lenses9 or somethin%#: ;ou feel as thou%h you

should be emotionally invested as Bruce stands on the chair but you can’t .uite brin% yourself to because of .uite ho& methodical and emotionless Bruce is + he brushes

(annah

8/18/2019 Analysis of James McAvoy in 'Filth'

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himself do&n and stands tall as if he is about to ta'e on another day at the o ice# ;oucan only really feel as much as the character# 4o be%in &ith, this may seem li'e a badactin% decision but, by the end of the scene, his reasonin% becomes apparent because,as he steps up and into the top of the chair and be%ins to 'ic' it from underneath hisfeet there is this )ash of fear and then

the doorbell rin%s and then the feardoubles as he realises that Mary,played by Joanne "ro%att, appears atthe doorbell# McAvoy %ives Bruce afe& moments &here you really thin' he may chan%e his mind and call forhelp as you see some %enuine fearand hope on his face# ;ou be%in to&onder if this Bruce is the sameBruce that you met at the be%innin%of the !lm and then this bi%, devilish%rin !lls McAvoy’s face accompanied by a little %i%%le as Bruce utters 7same rulesapply: and then you realise that some people never chan%e#

In my opinion a %ood performance has to have some truth behind it# ;ou can be the bestactor in the &orld but if you can’t dra& upon your o&n e-periences to %ive the &ordsthat you are deliverin% and the actions you are ma'in% some honesty then yourperformance can fall )at# I thin' if you ma'e sure that your performance is truthful andcomes from the heart instead of the head then everythin% else &ill follo& suit + i#e#bein% entertainin%, bein% believable and bein% emotional# If you are truthful then youhave no fear that you &ill %o =over the top’ or &on’t be %ivin% enou%h because you &illbe able to >ud%e your o&n performance in comparison to your o&n e-periences as ahuman bein%# 4he li'elihood is that an actor &ill play a human and since bein% human issomethin% &e can all relate to and, as human bein%s, &e all have our o&n lives ande-periences, it is important to be able to bein% a level of empathy for the character youare playin%# /ven if you are playin% an a&ful person, li'e Bruce Robertson, there is apart inside all of us that &ill be able to relate to &hat he is %oin% throu%h#

(annah