Filth and Wisdom
IFC Films | Release Date: October 17, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
26
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
1
Mixed:
6
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Impossibly arty and, at times, narratively incoherent, Filth and Wisdom still has its goofy charms. Read full review
60
Village VoiceScott Foundas
There's an undeniably funky charm and abiding can-do spirit to this loose-knit portrait of three London flatmates trying to make their way in the world. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The movie is short on wisdom, but it might have gotten by if it had had better filth. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
A charming but silly love letter to a vanished era of urban bohemia? Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Madonna's directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, feels more like a collection of scenes than a fully drawn film. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A pointless exercise in "shocking" behavior. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJoshua Katzman
Madonna, making her directorial debut, aims for the romping irreverence of Richard Lester's 60s comedies, and though she lacks the formal control to pull it off, this is a charming mess. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
It's rather sweet to think of Filth and Wisdom as Madonna's reconnection to her own boho Manhattan striver self a generation ago, and I did enjoy the last five minutes or so, when the movie essentially stopped and Hutz's band, Gogol Bordello, took over. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Worst of all, the movie's simply not very shocking. Madonna has made a career out of toying with image and ego, but this is a vanity project in the smallest sense possible. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Not that Madonna has gone in for originality, which isn't really her thing: rather, instead of repurposing a genre, she has riffled through the art-house catalog for inspiration, as evidenced by the film's intentionally grubby visual texture, jumpy editing, direct-address commentary, freeze frames and other tricks. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
With Filth and Wisdom, the Material Girl has now spliced the title of film writer and director into her list of accomplishments, but the result is, well, immaterial. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Madonna presents the three leads as flawed but essentially decent and redeemable, but they're bound up in a story that's meant to affirm a vague set of values. If she needs to justify the "Sex" book by charting her own contrived path from filth to heavenly wisdom, that's fine. But she should do it on her own time. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
Filth & Wisdom is dead in the water, an excruciating bore even at a compact 84 minutes. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
An irredeemably dull tale. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Reportedly, the movie began life as a short film, and if it actually ran for 22 minutes with a few commercial breaks, like a good sitcom should, Filth and Wisdom could be bearable. At 84 minutes, the movie feels both overpadded and underdeveloped. Read full review
20
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
Ragged, uneven and potholed with some dire dialogue and performances. Read full review
20
VarietyLeslie Felperin
Ineptly written and helmed story of three Londoners, although quite bad, does have a few redeeming features. Read full review
10
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
Madonna's mess of a movie grabs at the rub and rancor of multiculturalism, which it proceeds to squash into a litter of clichés, or, more simply, insults. Read full review
10
Washington PostNeely Tucker
The only thing this movie should lead you to is the nearest exit. Read full review
0
New York Daily NewsJoe Neumaier
An atrocious mess. Read full review
0
New York PostLou Lumenick
Thoroughly inept in just about every aspect. Read full review
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