From award winning director Steve McQueen (Hunger), Shame is a compelling and timely examination of the nature of need, how we live our lives and the experiences that shape us.
When Steve McQueen's 'Shame' was first released in cinemas towards the end of last year, it quickly became known as 'that sex-addiction movie starring Michael Fassbender'. Whilst that's not an inaccurate way to describe the film, it doesn't really get to the heart of what Shame is about: even more than sex, this is a movie about intimacy.
Fassbender (quickly becoming one of the standout actors of this generation, after star-making roles in the likes of Inglourious Basterds, X-Men: First Class and Prometheus) brings a cold intensity to the role of Brandon Sullivan: a New York advertising executive who projects a healthy, well-balanced persona, but in fact lives a lonely, solitary life punctuated only by his passion for pornography and prostitutes. However, this status quo is turned upside-down when Brandon's unstable and apparently manic-depressive sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) drops by his apartment unexpectedly and decides to stay over for a few days. As the film goes on, we gradually learn more about the pair's relationship, at the same time as we see Brandon try to change his behaviour to fall more closely in line with social norms.
Even on the surface, it's an interesting movie about how we relate to those close to us: both the people we love romantically or sexually, and the people we love as family and friends. But through some nuanced character development, unpredictable plotting and a deft handling of the subject matter, it becomes far more than that.
The first sign that this is going to be a truly mature, thoughtful movie rather than a sensationalist and shallow piece comes when the film first starts to properly deal with the sexual elements of its story - which are as prominent as you'd expect, given that Brandon is obsessed with sex. Whilst it would have been easy to make the sex scenes titillating, the film actively avoids any attempt to be erotic or even sensual, instead presenting sex as little more than a cold, detached, physical act for the character. This not only helps us to understand how Brandon approaches sex - as a mere commodity, rather than as something connected with genuine personal warmth and love - but it also helps the film to avoid being judgemental about the subject matter.
Whilst the film never sugar-coats the sex with a Hollywood-style soft focus or romantic music, it doesn't demonise pornography and prostitution either. Rather, it presents the sex completely dispassionately, forcing the viewer to judge Brandon's attitude to the subject for themselves. But although the film strives to not be judgemental about Brandon's relationship with sex, it constantly underlines the fact that the character doesn't approach the subject in a conventional way. The heart of the movie is Brandon's inability to experience emotional intimacy, even when he's being as physically intimate with another person as it's possible to get. And it's not for want of trying: we see Brandon attempt all sorts of conventional relationships (chatting up strangers at a bar; taking a co-worker out on a date), usually with awkward and clumsy results that stem from his inability to couple his sexual desires with a true sense of intimacy.
Somehow, despite the movie's cold, removed tone - which evokes the likes of Stanley Kubrick (especially with the use of extended tracking shots and long, unbroken takes) - the film still manages to be captivating and rooted in humanity throughout. That's undoubtedly due to the strong performances of the two leads, who ground their emotionally-complex characters in reality by constantly playing down their more unusual character traits rather than repeatedly emphasising them. There's also some interesting character work that comes through the subtle script, which contains vague hints at past trauma for both siblings without ever being completely explicit about the experiences that might have led them to become the adults they turned out to be.
The film's production design also works well to emphasise Brandon's character traits: his apartment is decorated in a flat, minimalist style that reflects the character's own emotional coldness, with only a record player and some old vinyl LPs serving as affected attempts to distinguish his personality. And some clever directorial choices also help to visually reinforce Brandon and Sissy's relationship with one another - such as a scene in which the two siblings argue whilst a TV in the background plays children's cartoons, reminding us that the rapport between the two characters is rooted in a childhood world rather than an adult one.
By the time 'Shame' begins to make its final descent into its bittersweet ending, you'll find it impossible not to be completely hooked by the story - and that's no mean feat given that it revolves around two characters that could seem so unlikeable and unsympathetic on the surface. Through some understated but nonetheless effective performances, a confident and even-handed approach to the subject matter, and some assured directorial choices, McQueen has put together a powerful and emotionally exhausting film. Whilst I can't honestly say I'll feel ready to watch it again for a good long time yet, it's also a film that I'm very glad to have experienced at least once, and I highly recommend it.
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An outwardly ordinary man must come to terms with his inner compulsions in this powerful drama from filmmaker Steve McQueen. Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a successful businessman in his early 30s who lives in New York. To most around him, Brandon seems cool and introverted, but inside Brandon is wrestling with a powerful sexual appetites; he's obsessed with pornography and prefers short-term relationships with women that allow him to keep the world at arm's length. The grim routine of Brandon's life is upended when his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) stops by for an extended visit without prior notice. While Brandon is reserved, Sissy is a musician, outgoing and flashy, who doesn't seem to care about her brother's need for privacy. As Sissy forces Brandon to look closely at his present, he also must confront with his past, and comes to understand the circumstances that made him the man he is today as his veneer of calm begins to crack.
Steve McQueen co-writes and directs this starkly honest portrait of a man struggling with sex addiction. Michael Fassbender stars as Brandon, a lonely 30-something New York bachelor who lives a carefully-concealed second life revolving around excessive levels of casual sex, prostitutes, pornography and masturbation. When his depressive sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), arrives unannounced to stay with him, seeking refuge from her own troubles, Brandon's life starts to unravel as his dark and shameful secrets are revealed.
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