User Reviews

The ever-impressive Michael Sheen plays Mark Furness. We meet Mark as he is just coming to terms with his illness: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Tourette's Syndrome. The increasing toll his illness takes is the breakup of his marriage and the loss of his job as an architect. He joins a self-help group where he meets Charlotte (played by Shirley Henderson) who clearly is the correct partner for him, who happens to be similarly afflicted, but he still obsesses after his estranged wife, amongst other things.

As someone with a close relative who suffers from OCD, I was suspicious of this TV film. I thought it may be either insensitive or on the other hand schmaltzy. I was pleased to find out that the film was neither. I suspect one or both of the writers and/or the director is familiar with OCD as the film is funny without being exploitative and heartbreaking without being schmaltzy.

The greatest credit has to go to both Michael Sheen and Shirley Henderson, the lead actors. Both were absolutely excellent when the temptation for some actors in this position could have been to go over the top. Michael Sheen is sure to be a big name soon.

I note that, at the time of writing, this page recommends "Love Actually" if you liked "Dirty Filthy Love". People, please understand that the two are *not* alike--"Dirty Filthy Love" is *much* better! It has real people in it, and real comedy, and real heartbreak. And no blockbuster soundtrack with uplifting music on.

The two lead characters suffer from OCD and Tourettes, and meet at a support group. This sounds like it's going to be a very naff film, I know, which is why I was confused when my reliable Guardian TV guide raved on about how it was the treat of the year. But, as usual, they were right--this is a beautiful film with great comedy and great pain. Just of course, like real life. Amazingly, it's very sympathetic to sufferers.

Please, see this if you can, it's a great and moving indie film.

Dirty Filthy Love is one of the best films produced for British TV in 2004. Michael Sheen is a simply wonderful actor who will be BIG if he gets the breaks. As a man suffering from a marriage bust up compounded by Compulsive Obsessive Disorder and Tourette's, he injects a huge amount of pathos and humour into the role. Long after the film is over you will still be seeing Michael barking like a dog and swearing uncontrollably at complete strangers. It's a brave, touching and very funny film about a difficult subject told without artificial sentimentality, thoroughly recommended. When you've seen this, rush off to get Sheen in another little British gem 'Heartlands'.

I recently watched this film a few days ago and I must say, it really took me by surprise. At the start of the film, I cracked up at the main character's behavior and the deeper I got into the film, I realized that I know someone who has the same problem but not as severely. The main actor did so well with the twitching and facial movements it made me think of the person I know who does the EXACT same thing. You feel deeply what the character does and he truly wants to control his problem but needs to face reality that he has a mental illness(?). Definitely a movie worth watching and one that will get you thinking about people who suffer or handle their OCD/Tourette's Syndrome.

At one level this is drama about self discovery and true love, which has been done a million times before. However, by giving the main character both Tourette's Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it adds a twist which is enough to hold interest.

It would be interesting to hear the views of people with real experience of these conditions, to see if the portrayal is accurate. One scene is on a farm where a self-help group of OCD sufferers plunge their hands in manure to see if they can stand it. This surprised me because I thought this would be completely inconceivable for anyone who was a genuine sufferer. Also I couldn't help wondering if the script writers were mixing up different disorders. Maybe I am wrong, in any case it remains a well told story which is worth watching.

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 throughout 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

Part of an accidental mental-illness-in-the-movies double feature for me recently with "Silver Linings Playbook." The latter is a big production while this feels like it's adapted from a stage play. Both, however, mix comedy and compassion in a way that let's you look at the people as larger than their illnesses.

Even though the illnesses at times, and often at the worst possible times, eclipse the people suffering from them. Adding the Tourette's was a nice twist here, and helps with the title to distinguish the dirty from the the filthy, or is it vice versa.

Ever since reading "Motherless Brooklyn" I've felt that Tourette's in particular, and possibly other mental illnesses are built on a sort of genetic or psycho-chemical sliding scale. And we all have our flashes of Tourette's or OCD or what-have-you, but it flashes rare enough or we catch in in time that it lies hidden from view, especially as those near to us want to keep the blinders position just so.

But perhaps there is a point where it is just too apparent, and then the disease decides at some times to push it 10 times past that. I don't know, I'll admit to being ignorant and insulated from these sorts of illnesses. But in seeing a film like this, I do find myself afterwards thinking of certain folks and wondering if they were struggling with these issues.

And I find myself hoping they can find people as charitable as Charlie. Interestingly in each of the two films I've recently watched, the one providing the most succour to the ailing male, is not a trained professional but a similar suffering female. Is it a form of self-help, found in the mirror of love.

I dunno, but surely helps one to root for a romance if it comes with added bonus of preserving sanity as part of the package.

Not sure how folks who've dealt with these disorders feel watching a film about them, and actors employ tics that the viewers work to destroy. But in general, not feeling alone in whatever troubles you seems to be a decent remedy for simpler troubles, so seeing beautiful people work out more beautiful actions on the big screen may be a small step for all. Even if three steps go forward, but one retreats.

This unusual movie was very well done, but overlong. The story arc is predictable, but the journey is worth the ride.

The odd camera angles do indeed help us feel Mark's discomfort. Even in casual conversations we alternate between overly tight head shots and very long shots; the camera never allows us to become comfortable with the situation.

I disagree with Missipecac in one area only. This film does indeed directly laugh at, and allow us to laugh at, the traits of OCD. I noticed, however, that this only happened between OCD sufferers. The outsiders in the film never laughed. They were always uncomfortable, frightened, distant, or confused. And the viewer was never given the opportunity to laugh in these situations.

It was only when the OCD sufferers could let their guard down and laugh (instead of crying) that the viewer could laugh along with them.

The predictableness of the plot did make for a movie that was too long. It could have been a good 10-15 minutes shorter. Even so, there was one obvious reference to a scene that was cut that I found quite jarring.

I was a spouse of a person with a major mental illness (not OCD). I would have liked to see the wife drawn a bit more fully. There were hints at her underlying sadness, regret, and guilt, but only the tiniest of hints.

I think this movie is a MUCH better examination of OCD than As Good As It Gets with Jack Nicholson. That movie was insufferably cute. In Dirty Filthy Love, even when you laugh at OCD, you never, ever find it cute or quirky.

The genre, Movies of the Afflicted, generally suffers from too much sentiment and too little cash. This TV production holds its own as a TV movie from the production standpoint. A bit choppy. A few too many loose ends, even for those of us without acute OCD. However, the efforts of Michael Sheen and Shirley Henderson give this film a lot of genuine heart. A somewhat sentimental portrayal perhaps, but with a sincerity that cannot be outweighed. The good that a production like this can do more than justifies the value of the project from the get-go, but this production manages to play better than a manual, aimed at adolescents. I think there is something truly unique in the British tradition of acting that raises productions like these a peg or two above their American equivalents.

"Dirty, Filthy Love" certainly serves the OCD and Tourettes suffering community well. It may be exaggerated with the coprolalia (ie, spontaneous swearing), but most people think that is what Tourettes is, anyway. I recommend this film. Other films that also help include: "The Tic Code", "Maze" and "Matchstick Men". In each case, the actors provide some dimension of reality to the afflictions. More humorous renditions include Jack Nicholson ("As Good as it Gets") and the television show "Monk" (Tony Shaloub). A primary value is helping the sufferer to explain the condition to others (read: family), which is hard for many people to understand. The educational value alone makes all these efforts worth while. I applaud the actors, directors, cast and crew of all these films.

This film gets a 10 mainly because of its excellent portrayal of the mentally ill. People with OCD are quite normal in most respects, except when one encounters their particular obsessions. Charlotte runs a respectable health food store/organic bakery and Mark has a successful career as an architect until his wife Stevie leaves him. They're both quite charming people if one overlooks Mark's tics and Charlotte's warp-speed manner of speech. The trauma of Mark's separation brings his OCD and Tourette's syndrome out into the open. "Normal" society then rejects Mark along with his best friend and Stevie he becomes an outcast in all senses of the word. That's the way it works in the real world. The film is mainly about the struggles of its main characters but also about how the "normal" world deals with those who struggle.

For example, there's the incompetent pill-pushing shrink who misdiagnoses OCD and Tourette's as clinical depression, even though I recognized Mark's problems 10 minutes into the film. People who have lived with these problems will vouch for the veracity of the shrink and for the portrayal of the employer without patience to try and make Mark fit in.

One other reason I liked this film is that at last the British have made a film that doesn't need subtitles to understand what the characters are saying. That's probably intentional as the movie has such a universal appeal. It could have been made anywhere in the Western World without changing a single line of dialog.

I highly recommend seeing this picture either on DVD or on TV, whether or not you need to deal with the mentally ill.

I had been eagerly anticipating this one off drama special ever since ITV started the advertising campaign a few weeks previously. The story of a man whose life is torn apart by an obsessive compulsive disorder was certainly a break from the monotonous murder mystery garbage the channel usually churns out in the Sunday 9pm time slot.

However, I'm afraid to report that I was disappointed with the final result. Yes, Dirty Filthy Love was an impressive piece of drama. From the very start the audience was made to feel as in they too were in Mark's obsessive universe, due the intelligent use of camera angles. The viewer almost felt that character's own discomfort themselves. And yes, the central story of Mark's marriage to Stevie breaking down helped to create a genuine sense of sadness for the character & his plight.

However, the feeling created for Mark was one of sympathy, not empathy. I couldn't help but feel that by making light of OCDs, the film-makers had certainly spun out a confused narrative. Was it a comedy? Was it a drama? It was hard to know what the makers' intentions were. Were we supposed to be laughing at the illness, or feeling sorry for them?

Of course, I know the old saying - if you can't laugh at something all you can do is cry. And I know that being able to lighten up about a serious subject is a very healthy thing to do. And OCD is certainly an illness that creates plenty of opportunities for joke-making. I know because I am a sufferer of the condition myself. However, I just felt that there were sometimes were the makers should have resisted the temptation to go for the laugh-factor, & concentrated more on showing the true complexities.

The fact is OCD is a condition that can not be neatly tied up in a Sunday night prime-time slot. For most, there is no beginning, middle and end. Its something that can fester and fester for years, causing a secret, constant pain to the sufferer. The extreme outcome of Mark's case was most certainly done for drama purposes.

I hope that those who watched and had no previous understanding of the condition came away more educated. But I doubt that they did. For the most part I predict that the audience came away thinking, "Its so weird, I just don't get it. Chocolate powder on his face? But I liked him though, he was a nice character."

The thing is OCD is not just something that occurs in extreme cases. I'm sure that most people who watched & were baffled by the quirky behaviours actual have some small OCD 'quirks' themselves. Ask yourselves this - have you ever checked, doubled checked & checked again that all the light switches are off or that the bedside alarm is set correctly? Do you often ensure that everything around you is 'straightened' and tidied up before you relax on the couch? Have you ever been convinced that a particular item of clothing has been responsible for an occurrence of bad/good luck?

Maybe the issues at hand are closer than you may have realized.

Michael Sheen shines as an OCD/Tourette's syndrome afflicted architect in "Dirty Filthy Love". Adrian Shergold has great command of intricate characters who's reactions to Mark's (Sheen) condition is realistic. The sadness of the condition is pointed out through various people's lack of understanding of mental illness in the film and the different options when it comes to treatment. Great acting on Sheen's part to be able to portray a man who has lost everything through deteriorating mental health. The ray of hope at the end happens when Mark is able to find a person who has similar problems. The two are willing to help each other through their struggles. A very poignant, and well written film. 8 out of ten stars

This is not a professional, intellectual review, but I just wanted to say that I thought this movie was beautiful and touching... It brought a tear to my eye, though that's not very hard to do :). Albeit a bit disappointing in a couple of instances, but overall marvelous. It was quite painful to watch, especially considering how so many people "in real life" can be as selfish, ignorant and impatient as the character "Stevie." Then again, it's really hard to imagine myself in those shoes.

Being an American and quite tired of the flashy, overdone and lacking-in-substance Hollywood movies, I really enjoyed something as different and subdued in style as this.

Through all the trials and tribulations, this movie kept a constant grin on my face. Literally, three quarters through the movie, I became aware of my facial expression and realized I was throughly enjoying all the ups and downs I was being lead through. The plot is painfully believable. It is a movie where you constantly anticipate, and hope for, the outcome of the next scene.

The writers/directors tastefully infuse humor and sadness in very real and sometimes awkward situations, and at the same time attach you (with the help of brilliant acting from Sheen and Henderson) deeply to the characters.

If you like to laugh, smile, encourage, and feel anguish at the same time... you will not be disappointed.

I could never see much humor in this story of a man, Mark Furness, who suffers from OCD as well as Tourette's Syndrome. Laughing at a mental illnesses that deprives a man of his wife, his job, his home, and his self-esteem just does not seem on. I did laugh when Mark was exchanging barks with the dog, but little else struck me as funny.

Michael Sheen's performance as Mark is nothing short of amazing, but I don't know how accurate his portrayal of the illnesses is. For example, in the early scenes his wife seems surprised by the noises he is making; I have a hard time believing that this serious symptom came on so suddenly that it was a new behavior for him. Perhaps the anxiety of separation from his wife provoked an exaggeration of his symptoms? In any case, Sheen's performance was realistic enough to make me feel the agony of his plight. Shirley Henderson, as Charlotte, who is running a support group, is good as well. I found Charlotte's mental state to be ambiguous--she had some sort of hair pulling fixation and an obsession with odd numbers, but whatever her maladies, they did not keep her from running a small business and being able to appear normal.

The title is rather odd, giving little hint as to the content of the movie. I suspect many people who could appreciate this will write it off as a porn film and skip it.

This movie says a lot about how people like Mark are viewed by so-called normal people. By and large they just want them to go away. The people at Mark's architectural firm make little effort to accommodate his unusual behaviors and would rather be done with him. A value of this movie is that it might make you more understanding of odd behaviors when you encounter them in the future. But I can see where dealing with such a person as Mark on a daily basis would not be without its challenges.

This film tells the story of a man with obsessive and compulsive disorder plus Tourette syndrome. He undergoes a difficult time as his career and marriage falls apart. Fortunately, he meets another woman with psychiatric problems, and they support each other. It's a heartwarming tale in the background of tragic circumstances. Even though Martin Sheen's frequent barking and swearing are supposed to be funny, I found it too unfortunate and sad to laugh at the circumstances. It's more of a drama than comedy, and it takes viewers straight to the heart of individuals with psychiatric afflictions. It's certainly something different, and not often seen on screen.