Dirty Filthy Love [Import]

Beginning with a smart script by Jeff Pope and Ian Puleston-Davies (the latter a fine actor who happens to be afflicted with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and under the inordinately delicate direction of Adrian Shergold, DIRTY FILTHY LOVE is one of the more sensitive examinations of two challenges that affect the lives of many people thoughout the world: Tourette's Syndrome (complete with tics and uncontrollable inappropriate outbursts of foul language, noises, shouts), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (lives complicated by the need for order imposed by the patient's mind as a series of repeated behaviors that protect the person from the terror of living in a chaotic world). Wrongly titled (a title that probably prevents many people from seeing this little miracle of a film) and incorrectly billed as a comedy (which is most certainly not), DIRTY FILTH LOVE is one of those films that slipped by us all without a theatrical release but now is thankfully available on DVD. It deserves full attention.

Mark Furness (played with superlative skill by Michael Sheen) is an architect on leave due to his progressive illnesses (see above) and who is first seen in the throes of beginning a trial separation from his beloved wife Stevie (Anastasia Griffith) who can no longer live under the same roof with Mark's 'inexplicable' behavior patterns. Left alone with the anxiety over his surfacing deterioration from his physical challenges, Mark finds solace with his close friends who also tire of his behavior and insist he seek medical help. In the waiting room of a deaf-eared doctor Mark 'meets' Charlotte (the astonishingly fine character actor Shirley Henderson) and Charlotte, who happens to suffer from both Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as well as trichotillomania (uncontrolled pulling out hair strands to the point of baldness), senses a man who needs help. Charlotte tells Mark of a group therapy session for people with similar problems and Mark, out of desperation, joins the group (a fascinating group of actors imbuing their disease states without the least sign of parody).

It is obvious rather early on that Charlotte is attracted to Mark, but Mark's life is one directed toward making himself acceptable to Stevie. With a powerful confrontation at a very social party Mark realizes he suffers from a disease state he has had since birth and the only one who really cares about his dilemma and understands his turmoil is Charlotte: a strange love affair is finally recognized.

Scripts such as this are all too rare and when brought to the screen with the exceptional acting and direction rendered by this crew they become films that should be required viewing. In every way these are brilliant performances by Michael Sheen and by Shirley Henderson, yet because the film never received a theatrical release in this country (probably due to the factors mentioned above) it will be ignored by the Oscars. But awards are only momentary returns for art pieces of this caliber and this one is destined for a long shelf life. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, November 05

No, this is not a film about kinky sexual exploits. The "dirty filthy" of the title relates to the fears of some obsessive compulsive types who fret about the preponderance of dirt and germs in everyday life. Michael Sheen plays a man that has watched his life disintegrate as the combination of Tourette's Syndrome and OCD begins to affect his behavior. This leads to more stress, which only causes more tics, barks and other alarming expressions that cause further problems (his wife has left him, he's lost his job etc.); and the additional stress only causes further symptoms to manifest themselves.

Shirley Henderson is the leader of an OCD support group, with problems of her own. She has issues with odd numbers and will politely send away the third, fifth or seventh person to join a conversation. Her attempts to help Sheen become aware of his illness and to cope with it form the basis for this poignant and often funny story.

I'm a sucker for almost any Sundance Film Festival selection, and this film doesn't disappoint. It deals compassionately with issues of illness that are all too frequently ignored or mocked. While I've never before seen Michael Sheen or Shirley Henderson, I hope to see their work again very soon.

Dirty Filthy Love, a BBC television movie directed by Adrian Shergold and co-written by Jeff Pope and Ian Puleston-Davies is a superbly played portrayal of life with faulty brain wiring. It is billed by some as a comedy, but that is a misnomer. In our daily negotiations with spouses, roommates and bosses, there are funny moments and ridiculous interactions and these are seen in the film. But the script doesn't play out for laughs, and the humor arises from the natural foibles of being human. Underneath it all, there is a painful, sad fact: perfectly intelligent, good people have brains that don't work right. It is important to watch this film-- if only to remind us that mental illness is nothing more or less than brain disorders that can treated.

Suffering from a failing marriage, Mark (brilliantly portrayed by Michael Sheen) is awakening to the realization that his day to day rituals are ruling his life. As his anxieties grow, he suffers from increasingly debilitating OCD and tourette. Writer Puleston-Davies, who has OCD and mild Tourette, draws from his own experience: Mark goes to the doctor and says he has his severe depression narrowed down to "three things: meningitis, early senile dementia or a brain tumour." In real life, Puleston-Davies's doctor diagnosed the OCD, and helped him get cognitive behavior therapy. In the film, Mark is simply prescribed and dismissed with anti-depressants. His saving grace comes from co-patient Charlotte (played by the absolutely delicious Shirely Henderson), who educates him, and us, by putting a name to Mark's disorders, and leading him through a weekly support group.

This is an engaging film, one that deals with mental and physical challenges that are both uncomfortable and painful. Sheen's perfect rendition of Tourette-- ticing that is raw, unseemly, and underscores how well he knows his craft--and OCD are uncanny. The only thing I found disturbing, however, was the portrayal of tourette as an ever-evolving disorder. In this film, the tourette seemed to come on only after his life was crumbling. In actuality, tourette manifests in early age--roughly about 7 years old or so--the same as when Mark discovered his OCD while playing ball with his mates. It rarely first manifests in adulthood, and it doesn't evolve from one extreme form to another. The initial ticing (his wife asks "what is wrong with your throat" as if she never heard it before) is the extent of tourette for many people. He then goes through copraphagia (only a minority of people with Tourette have this), barking, mimicking--the entire gamut. Whether this is for dramatic effect or to somehow show the full extent and severity of Tourette----it still isn't true to the syndrome.

Many famous and successful people have OCD--David Beckham, Justin Timberlake, the movie's author. Their lives are like this movie--not purely comedy, not totally drama, and not fully a love story. Rather, this is a cautionary tale that if you win the genetic lottery of misfiring brain neurons, it takes genuine compassion and diligence to survive.