Shame

        Shame is a movie I have mixed feelings about.  It is an indie film that deals with the uncomfortable topic of sexual and pornography addiction, but it is in no way a gratuitous movie.  The film is rich and textured, yet does not so much follow a story or plot.  This is more of a character profile of a modern man in the 21st century.  He lives in a society where instant gratification is available with 24 hour convenience and a click of a button.

Brandon (played by the newest coolest actor on the planet, Michael Fassbender) is a New Yorker who shuns intimacy, but feeds his desires compulsively with pornography and prostitutes.  Brandon doesn’t fit the stereotype of what we would think a sex addict would look like.  He is charming and handsome and makes an above average living as an exec for a generically large corporation.  He is able to make married women swoon with just a glance and his low key cool persona makes him irresistible in the after work bar circuit.  The scene on the subway where Brandon seduces a woman (Lucy Walters playing an unnamed character) is completely without dialogue, yet one of the more powerful seductions I have ever seen on screen.  There is no physical contact between the two, yet you know that mentally, she has totally given herself to this stranger on the train.  Fassbender is able to convey seduction with just a look.

Brandon’s life begins to spin from his control with the arrival of his mentally unbalanced sister, Sissy (aptly named character played by Carey Mulligan) who needs a place to stay.  The film shows that they are both emotionally damaged and are antagonistic towards each other even as they are being supportive.  It’s interesting as we never are allowed to see the source of their emotional baggage.  It’s just there for us to see and make our own conclusions. She threatens the life of solitude that he has set up for himself.

As Brandon’s addiction grows worse, it begins to intrude upon his professional life.  Massive amounts of porn is found on his work computer and Brandon’s married boss begins to take an interest in Sissy.  The secret life intrudes upon his normal life. Brandon makes attempts at normalcy but can’t seem to make it work.  His date with an attractive co-worker (Nicole Beharie) goes astray when their conversation reveals that Brandon doesn’t see the reason for marriage or even relationships.  It seems it is a revelation for Brandon as well.  It is an intriguing conversation and it doesn’t really judge.  Like I stated earlier, it’s just profiles his life.

The director, Steve McQueen (not the actor) is an exciting new British director making a name for himself on the indie circuit.  This is McQueen’s second team up with Fassbender after the film ‘Hunger’.  His vision in ‘Shame’ is much more coherent than ‘Hunger’, but still lacks what I would call a story.  If you’re going to see this film for sexual thrills you will be in for a disappointment (even though it is very graphic).  The tenor of the film is voyeuristic, yet not arousing.  If you are going to see this film for full frontal Fassbender nudity, well that you will get.  No answers are given, no lessons are learned.  Epiphanies seem to happen, but nothing is really changed or resolved.  

I give this film ** 1/2 stars.  I feel I should give it more due to it’s boldness, but I won’t.