Review of Dirty Filthy Love (2005) by Monet J — 08 Aug 2012

A man with OCD attempts to reconcile with his estranged wife.

Why is this film marketed as a comedy? I don't think it funny when a man can't leave the house without going through a complicated routine or sits naked in a kitchen sink scratching the skin off his feet because he trod in shit. Michael Sheen doesn't think it funny either, and that's why he's is fantastic as Mark, a man with OCD and Tourette's. Each of his tics elicits a flash of self-torture that Sheen captures wonderfully, and desperate anxiety coats his more embarrassing compulsions. It's a committed, incredible performance.

I also like the visual metaphors in the film - the winding staircase representing Mark's mind and ordered, structured apartment houses in which only someone with OCD could find beauty (or, in Charlotte's words, someone "named Lenin").

However, I found it difficult to believe that no one else diagnosed Mark before Charlotte. From the first frame it was clear that Mark had OCD, and the wedding video proves that his symptoms aren't new phenomena. And eventually the film becomes a classic story of a troubled man saved by the love of a good woman, which is one of the most trifling stories ever told.

Overall, Michael Sheen is the reason to see this film, and though it's marketed as a comedy, he delivers a dramatic and soul-scathing performance.