I
found Shame to be a bleak, intriguing
and tense film which stuck with me for a long time after watching it. It
follows Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan, a successful thirty-something
in New York
who has an addiction – to sex. Brandon
is forced to juggle his addiction with his job and this is made even more
difficult with the arrival of his emotionally damaged sister Silly, played by
Carey Mulligan.
One
of the first things that me struck about the film was how beautiful both New York and the
internal sets looke. Steve McQueen is obviously a man with a great eye for
beauty in simplicity, a trend that has continued from his earlier career as an
artist. Another thing that struck me was Michael Fassbender’s penis. My
girlfriend’s three word review of the film “it’s so big!” sums it up well. The
film doesn’t shy away from sex or nudity which is refreshing in a world where
18 Certificate films are becoming much rarer. Many film makers see the 18 as
something to avoid for financial reasons but Searchlight, the films distributor
has called it a “badge of honour”.
Although
the film focuses on sex addiction, it could be about any type of addiction. You
are increasingly drawn in to Fassbender’s quest to scratch his itch as his life
spirals deeper into depravity. You realise that he will do almost anything to
get his fix and the parallels with other addictions are evident.
While
sex addiction is at the forefront of this film I believe that its motif is the
relationship between Fassbender and Mulligan. You are left wanting to know more
about what lead them to become the people they are. They don’t seem like
brother and sister and find it hard to act as though they are. This mystery is
at the heart of the film.
Shame is a powerful and uncompromising film that delves
deep into the subject of addiction and its impacts on us.
9/10
