Sunday 15 January 2012

#4 - Shame

There are two main things that spring to mind in the first few minutes of Steve McQueen's 2nd feature film, 'Shame': 1. 'What a lovely apartment but the sheets need a wash' and 2. 'Isn't Michael Fassbender well-endowed?' The movie starts as it means to go on, so anyone who has any kind of issue with on-screen nudity need look no further: this movie is not for you. Otherwise, this is a powerful, engrossing depiction of how someone's facade can be a mask for who they are behind closed doors.

Following Brandon (Fassbender) in his journey through an ever-increasing sex addiction, and his relationship with his self-destructive sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), McQueen doesn't pull any punches in his depiction of these two siblings. Brandon is selfish, arrogant and at times extremely aggressive; Sissy needy, manic and irritating. Neither of them seem to think about how their actions affect the other characters around them, as long as they get what they need or desire at any point in the script. They are different, yet the same and they are written in such a way that the audience can really believe in them as brother and sister.

The screenplay, a collabaration between McQueen and Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady), is bare and brutal. Minutes pass without words, but the performances are so outstanding that everything is said on screen without a need for dialogue. When words are used, there is no redundancy - everything that is said is vital.  This device intrigues the audience, making them want to know more, but ultimately leaving them to put together some of the jigsaw themselves. What was the start in life that led to Brandon and Sissy both ending up the way they are? We don't know, but there are enough clues to help us decide for ourselves.
Brandon (Fassbender) and Marianne (Deharie) enjoy a candlelit dinner.

Fassbender's performance is an absolute tour-de-force, earning him a well deserved Golden Globe nomination already, and with any luck an Oscar nomination should follow. The journey his character follows is distressing and every nuance feels so real. The pain he conveys gets more and more noticeable as the final act plays out. One scene that sticks in the mind is his date with his work collague, Marianne (in a small, but outstandingly naturalistic supporting performance from Nicole Deharie). Brandon desperately wants to be 'normal' and the audience feels moments of hope throughout this single-shot dinner scene but his actions in the ensuing scenes bring home the reality of his addiction.

Mulligan provides another superb supporting turn as Sissy. She continues to prove her diversity as an actress, and her scenes with Fassbender are always unnerving, because she plays the role with such unpredictability.

Sex addiction has long been a taboo subject, but McQueen has attacked it head-on, exposing it for what it can do to a seemingly 'normal' person. He has shot the film in drab colours and with no holds barred. As the film progresses, the pace accelerates, similar to how an addiction happens: slow at first, but spiralling out of control. In this respect, it is an extremely clever work of art. Each scene gets progressively more 'shameful' and to that effect the title is very apt. Suffice to say, there are no happy endings here for anyone.

Having said all of this, it's probably important to remember that this is not a movie for everybody. A first date movie, it is not! But if you want to watch extraordinary actors in a film that really gives a great understanding to everyone about addiction and its effects on a person, and those around him, then see this movie. Just don't expect to want to have sex that evening.

Lowdown: A dark, depressing journey into the psyche of a sex addict, directed to perfection by McQueen. Fassbender proves why he is the biggest breakout actor of 2011.

Score: 10/10

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