Shame (2012) ****

Starring;
Michael Fassbender
Carey Mulligan

Director;
Steve McQueen

In Three Words;     Intense - Operatic - Ambitious

Plot;

Brandon Sullivan (Fassbender) is a seemingly successful bachelor living in New York City. He has difficulty with balancing his life with work and addiction. Things are made more difficult when his sister Sissy (Mulligan) unexpectedly arrives at his apartment. Needing a place to stay Brandon reluctantly agrees that she can stay for a few days. Sissy’s presents causes Brandon to struggle further to establish equilibrium in his life.

Review;

Brandon enjoys nothing more than being out looking for his next meaningless one night stand. Whether that is with a girl he picks up in a bar or a prostitute he doesn’t care. He is addicted to internet porn and appears to have little interest in dealing with his problems. Perhaps he doesn’t see his situation as a problem?

However, Brandon is unable to bring his conquests to his apartment as he has an unexpected guest in the form of his sister Sissy. They clearly have a difficult relationship, not seeing one another for months or perhaps longer at a time. When Sissy appears unannounced it appears she is going through a break up and is finding rejection difficult. The dynamics between Brandon and Sissy are intense and they have clearly been through difficult times in the past however McQueen leaves us guessing at what may have occurred. We are not privy to the back story and this leaves many questions unanswered.

Brandon’s addiction spills over into his working life after his works PC picks up a virus and the companies IT department decide to take a closer look. He is later informed by his arrogant married boss David (James Badge Dale) that his hard driver is ‘dirty’. However, this does not lead to a dismissal. David is more interested in when they will be going on their next night out to pick up women.

Indeed it is on that next night out when David meets the overly flirty Sissy. In a beautiful scene in an upmarket bar Sissy sings a wonderfully slow version of New York, New York. McQueen is in no hurry to move the scene forward and a lesser director would never have let a scene develop like this. This is repeated throughout the film. After Sissy goes back to Brendon’s apartment with David, Brandon is incensed to the point of exploding. He seems one step away from becoming Patrick Bateman. Instead of listening to the sexual exploits of his boss and sibling he goes for a late night jog. This is a wonderful scene where we see once again the ambition of McQueen. Rarely will you see such a long continuous shot through the streets of New York City.

Brandon continues to struggle with his addiction throughout the film and despite attempting to go on a ‘normal’ date this does not give him the fix that he craves. However, we are presented with a bit of comic relief during the date in which an overly attentive waiter brings a smile to the audience. This is a well balanced scene which could have easily derailed the film. However, McQueen keeps a wonderful consistent tone throughout.  

Brandon is taken down avenues that perhaps he thought he would never explore. His relationship with Sissy continues to be fractured and although we have to surmise their backgrounds we do see that Sissy bears the scars of a difficult past.

Steve McQueen has provided us with a visceral treat in Shame and has showed why he is fast becoming a big time director. His artistic background is put to good use and he has developed an almost operatic feel throughout the film. Shame deals with a tricky subject matter which is handled perfectly with McQueen not attempting to patronise his audience with a toned down look at addiction, he goes to the next level and for some maybe even too far. However, if Fassbender’s character was addicted to drink or drugs then I think McQueen would still have pushed the subject as far as he could. This in turn gives us a thought provoking and unique insight into a taboo compulsion.

Verdict;
Four out of five.


James King agrees with me....  @jameskingmovies

Jonathan Ross was not impressed with shame.... @wossy