A virulent but thoroughly entertaining trilogy of tales about the besieged lower classes of Edinburgh, ripe with vulgarity, self-loathing, violence and economic disorder.
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
There are flashes of excitement in this film, mostly from the verbal play and sulphurous humour of Welsh's perspective, but there's a lot that makes you wonder why you're sitting through it.
With a cackling nihilistic glee, the movie rubs our faces in the stinking, screaming muck of raw human appetite and insists that that's all there is.
60
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Village VoiceJessica Winter
There's so little leavening humor here, and so much physical and emotional violence visited upon the already abject, that the film seems as pointless as the wasted lives it purports to examine.
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
It's not the direction that feels flaccid in this film. Surprisingly, it's the stories themselves, which provide a bit of a giggle but little else.
50
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Sympathy is disturbingly cast aside so we can wallow in the pathetic. It’s a bad trip, man.
40
Film ThreatRon Wells
Film ThreatRon Wells
Over all, the short stories never gel together or create a unified whole.