Shame

Steve McQueen made a real impact in the film world with his powerful debut Hunger. But like with musicians, there is always the risk that a director's second film will not live up to the high expectations the first effort sets. Yet McQueen has a good go with his dark exploration of human character in Shame.

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a successful and well off man living in New York City. He is also a sex addict who constantly picks up women, hires prostitutes, views internet porn daily and masturbates at any given opportunity. It affects his day to day life and he lives a lonely existence. His life is made more complex when his singer sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan), a woman with obvious problems, crashes at his place. She interferes with his life, including sleeping with his boss, David (James Badge Dale) and sets Brandon off to tackle his addiction.

Brandon is depicted as a really despicable character, but he is a man struggling with an addiction. There is a number of sexual scenes throughout Shame, but there is no eroticism as Brandon explores more depraved and disgusting acts and his life spirals out of control. Shame plays as a drug addition movie, similar to Requiem for a Dream as someone struggles to give up something hazardous.

Fassbender offers a powerful performance as a dark, sinister man with strong interplay with Mulligan as he becomes threatening towards her. Compare him to Mulligan, a much more brittle character, on the edge for different reason. She gives a heartbreaking performance as a woman who does not know how to do deal with problems and has a sadness in her eyes. Their scenes were enhanced by McQueen's direction, using hand held cameras to follows Fassbender and the conversations stick to one point, making you feel like you are really watching them in a voyeuristic matter. This makes the movie more tense as the tone changes in an instant.

McQueen employs a grainy filter, giving Shame a dark, grim look which is perfectly fitting considering the atmosphere of the movie. The visuals have a similar feel and tone as other gritty and grim New York set films such as Taxi Driver, Midnight Cowboy and American Psycho, all of which follow the horrible underbelly of the city. He has shown that he is a great actors' director, but McQueen also had some great visuals, such as a long tracking shot of Brandon jogging and Brandon watching two people having sex in their apartment.

There are many moments in the movie that have little dialogue, relying on Fassbender superb abilities as an actor, particularly key in the beginning and during a long montage of Brandon wandering alone in New York, playing like a scene in the great novel Last Exit to Brooklyn. This is a movie about Brandon's continuing descent and self-sabotage and Fassbender should hopefully gain an Oscar nomination to back up his award buzz in Europe.

Shame continues McQueen's reputation as being one of the best emerging directors around, sticking to his no holds barred, brutal style which keeps a stage play quality to the presentation. Shame is tough, but worthy just for Fassbender's performance and keeps to a tradition of grim New York based film.

Please visit www.playeraffinity.com

I am truly shocked by the people criticizing this film for lack of substance. I've seen comments about how there is limited dialogue, and therefore no character development, and hardly any story. Did we watch the same film? I'm thinking we must not have.

Shame dives into the life of a man living with an addiction to sex. The first 10 minutes of this movie effectively introduces him, his addiction, his relationship with humanity (sister included), and barely uses any words to do so. You shouldn't need a lot of dialogue when emotions are conveyed with facial expressions, effective cinematography, and great editing. This film is loaded with all of that.

Obviously films are subjective, but I feel those who say they didn't get to "know' the characters at all must always need everything spoon fed to them. I am not a sex addict, but still connected with both Fassbender and Mulligan. I found the development both subtle and extremely realistic. Does everything need to always have that Hollywood ending? Should everything get wrapped up nicely and leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling when you walk out of the theater? I definitely don't think so.

Anybody who does need that probably shouldn't watch any Steve McQueen films. Anyone who can appreciate a raw, subtle, and beautifully made film should go watch Shame.

Mental Illness done with an outsider looking in. The trauma in their childhood must have been great for these two to suffer what the viewer is witnessing. Any addiction is difficult to watch. I was exhausted after watching this film. Like a hunter Brandon's thirst could never be quenched. He is existing not living. There are so many facets to this fim that are interesting: the boss David's ability to have a family and indulge in sex on the side, people's willingness to go to a bar and have sex with a stranger and then go on with their lives, unaffected. Yet Brandon, with no ties to anyone, is smoldering and suffocating in the weight of his obsession. A good study in human behavior. I don't like sex in film for sensationalism but the sex in this film was like another character, the antagonist.

"We're not bad people. We just come from a bad place."

The film is profoundly sad. It brilliantly depicts what is the true effect of addiction. How it sucks the life out of someone until they are forced to give in to their desire, thus becoming just a hollow shell of a person. The whole thing has an unsettling vibe to it, and the color tone and cinematography do help the story to move forward. Steve McQueen as a director really shines here. He tells the story with subtlety, like there some scenes where the characters don't say much, and he relies on visuals to do the work.

As for the acting, Michael Fassbender is insanely brilliant as he is in all of his other films. This role requires a lot from him like he has to be charismatic, also has to bring a sense of vulnerability to the character which he does amazingly. Carey Mulligan's character is sort of this broken person who clearly has a past with her brother, at least that's what I got from some of their awkward encounters.

It's kind of a tough film to sit through, so it's not recommended for everyone.

It is a gut-wrenching painful story of a brother and sister. Both are damaged individuals and both have complex and broken sex lives. One of the best work of Fassbender.