Directed by:
Steve McQueenCinematography:
Sean BobbittComposer:
Harry EscottCast:
Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie, Jennifer Butler, Lucy Walters, Elizabeth Masucci, Alex Manette, Hannah Ware (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
A drama centered on 30-something Brandon, his myriad sexual escapades, and what happens when his wayward younger sister moves in with him. (official distributor synopsis)
Videos (14)
Reviews (10)
I won't claim that this is a film that everyone will love. With his film "Hunger," Steve McQueen - no, not the legendary and late actor - made it clear that his films would not be simple. After a depressing hunger strike, we now have Michael Fassbender in the lead role again, who will not suffer from hunger but from sexual desire. This is not just a longing, but a genuine craving. He is willing to do it with any woman, anywhere. No, he is not willing, he actually needs it. We follow a man who is addicted to sex, a man who sinks deeper and deeper into human relationships because of it. Among his colleagues, he wears a mask that he never takes off, it only falls off in front of his own sister. Only with her does he understand who he is actually becoming. The film has many strong scenes, but one in particular stuck in my mind. Brandon, whom Michael portrays, really does it anywhere and in any way, but when it comes to making love based on emotion, perhaps love, he is unable to consummate the relationship. Is this our society? Is love and emotion disappearing, and are we becoming just those who need to fulfill their basic needs? In this sense, McQueen's indictment is perfect. It is explicit, it does not beautify anything, it cuts to the core. McQueen portrays himself as a great authorial creator from whom we can expect a lot more depressing content. Most people will find his "Shame" difficult to accept, but it is definitely worth it. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/08/lode-stud-zoo-marylin-pulnoc-v-parizi.html
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Although McQueen holds tremendous directorial promise for the future, he'd probably stumble a bit in this case if it wasn’t for Fassbender. This film, like few others, focuses on the psychology and nature of the individual, which essentially dictates the entire atmosphere and reflect all the moods and thoughts that surround McQueen's sexual experiment. And Fassbender sacrifices so much for his extremely difficult role that in some scenes he’s left standing, giving a performance worthy of at least an Oscar nomination. Some of the shots attacking the boundaries of porn are perhaps too violent, and the viewer should be prepared for a number of almost lyrical (I really can't think of another term) passages, but otherwise what we have here is a perfectly executed intimate drama that explores eroticism and passion from the opposite point of view, unfortunately often present in life. If there's ever going to be an adaptation of “50 Shades of Grey”, it should be a job only for McQueen. :) 85%
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My low rating is not related to the shock of sexually explicit scenes or the lack of even minimal identification with the main character. It stems from the fact that Brandon was uninteresting to me from the beginning and I quickly felt from the film an artificially created situation and a superficial story. Simply put, I was bored and found the movie detached. Overall impression: 25%.
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Whether you wake up alone in the morning, next to a steady partner, or with someone different every day, Shame attacks the core of each of us. Brandon's behavior may start out as just a casual walk with various sexual undertones, but the last half hour takes all the psychological weight and throws it into the viewer's lap. The mental pain, which increasingly radiates from Michael Fassbender's eyes, didn't repel me or destroy me, but instead incredibly fascinated me. A film that only in the last seconds definitively proves how complex and deep it is.
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What has happened to us? We are crumbling under the pressure of the modern age, we pretend that nothing is happening and try to blend in with the crowd to survive, only to turn back into our real selves when we are alone in private. We turn into unstable individuals who don’t belong anywhere, with an inclination to... experiment. Shame deals with advanced sexual addiction and portrays a man in the final stage of decay, culminating with the arrival of his sister. And this results in a couple of scenes that are nightmarish for every brother. An absolutely precise acting performance by Michael Fassbender (where is that Oscar nomination?) draws you into the sleazy world of success, opportunity but also emptiness. With him, we observe mere silhouettes of people with whom he enters into relationships, either bed or work-related, we see his efforts to escape and failures accompanying such attempts. And even the punishments he gives himself for his failures. A very distinctive and slow-paced movie certainly not to everyone’s taste, or understanding, or even misinterpretation. If just for that unbelievably strong scene in the metro (the ravishing Lucie Walters) at the beginning of the movie it deserves all the stars.
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