The British indie DIRTY FILTHY LOVE offers a quirky spin on the standard romanticcomedy formula with the tragicomic misadventures of its neurochemicallyaddled hero Mark Furness Michael Sheen is a thirtysomething architect whose marriage and career are threatened by his increasing obsessivecompulsive disorder and Tourette’s syndrome, which include repetitive and completely involuntary activities such as staircounting, handwashing, and swearing When his wife Stevie Anastasia Griffith files for divorce and he loses his job to a subordinate, Mark turns to his doctor for help but instead meets a kindred soul, Charlotte Shirley Henderson, who immediately diagnoses Mark’s mental disorders and offers him therapy via her own selfhelp group The film’s darkly humorous yet poignant tone is carried by Sheen’s nuanced performance and an unsentimental script copenned by Ian PulestonDavies, whose own experiences with OCD lend authenticity to the proceedings
