Madonna's Directorial Debut Gets Critical Mauling

No surprises here, but Madonna’s directorial debut, the movie Filth and Wisdom, has received a bit of a critical panning after its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival yesterday (February 13).

Despite Queen Madge being present for the movie’s launch, which stars Gogol Bordello’s madcap frontman Eugene Hutz, this didn’t stop some critics from sharpening their knives.

Ray Bennett from the Hollywood Reporter was perhaps most scathing, describing the film as “ragged, uneven and pot-holed with some dire dialogue and performances.”

The Independent’s Kaleem Aftab says the film is clearly the work of a novice, writing: “On this evidence Madonna has a long way to go as a film-maker. To her credit, she makes the most out of a poor script - and at least it stops her acting herself.”

Despite the flurry of negative comments, there have been some positive ones.

Sheila Johnston from the Daily Telegraph says that despite it’s faults, Filth and Wisdom is not as awful as you might think: “The movie is - disappointingly, perhaps - not an outright embarrassment; there are even a couple of intentional laughs in it. It's not an entirely unpromising first effort. But the director would do well to hang on to her day job.”

But it’s The Times who have given the work the most glowing review, with James Christopher proclaiming: “Yet despite its many shortcomings and an ending so mushy and neat it would embarrass Richard Curtis, Madonna has done herself proud.”