Wow, you'd think a film about a young woman suffering the aftermath of an acid attack by an ex would be brutal, depressing, and difficult to watch and you'd be fucking right.

_Dirty God_ begins as Jade (a scathing talented Vicky Knight) is released from the hospital with severe scarring after an ex boyfriend doused her with acid. The subject is an important one and all but ignored in contemporary art, but the main reason to see _Dirty God_ is the performance by newcomer Vicky Knight. Knight herself bears scars from an arson fire when she was 11, though it's her performance which stands out and not her appearance for she attacks the role with a bitterness and sensitivity she brandishes like a heart on her tattered sleeve.

The cinematography is often striking, though director Sacha Polak had a little difficulty establishing a balance between hope and despair. She either should have made the entire film a study of pain or interjected sparse rays of optimism throughout, rather than paint a bleak picture for 95% of the film and then force a happy ending on us in the closing minutes.

But, in the end, that's not what _Dirty God_ will be remembered for. The film will make its mark on cinema thanks to the exploration of an under-represented issue in society, and a tour de force portrayal by the gifted Vicky Knight.