Shame (2011)

Directed by: Steve McQueen

Verdict: What could have been a hard-to-watch, uncomfortable 1 hour 40 minutes is actually a gripping, chilling account of addiction and the damaging human condition. A masterful performance by Michael Fassbender brings the troubled character of Brandon to the brink of audience-detestation and back again. Carey Mulligan’s painful howl of a performance steals the show as Brandon’s damaged sister, all captured in a horrifyingly beautiful motion picture.

There are many out there who are bemused/outraged/cynically raising a British eyebrow over Fassbender’s omission from the Academy Award nominees list. After seeing his tour-de-force performance in this film, I’m right there with them.

On paper, I thought I was going to hate this film. I thought it would be uncomfortable, and that Fassbender’s character would be unlikeable, unrealistic and dull. What Fassbender achieves in this film mostly through body language and facial expression is astounding. Brandon is portrayed as a fairly normal guy, albeit with a sometimes terrifying sex addiction.

I had read beforehand that this film was ‘chilling’ and ‘gripping’, but quite honestly didn’t believe that a film about a well-to-do office worker in modern day America would really have that many scary elements. However, I was both chilled and gripped within the first 15 minutes of watching. The sequence where Brandon watches and stalks a woman through the subway station is both beautifully shot and masterfully performed.

Mulligan’s turn as Sissy is striking as she self-destructs in the most heart breaking way. As the film progresses the brother-sister relationship frequently breaks conventions – both filmic and social – and becomes increasingly uncomfortable and hard-hitting, culminating in Sissy’s tragic suicide attempt. Mulligan’s part is relatively small in this film and the star is undeniably Fassbender; in saying this Sissy’s rendition of ‘New York New York’ is gorgeously shot in close-up and Mulligan’s more than capable vocals capture every ounce of heart-wrenching emotion.



In all, this film was a total surprise to me. McQueen has taken some inordinately tough subject matter and turned it into a beautiful motion picture. I doubt very much anyone who has seen this film exited the cinema without questions buzzing around their mind. The film can be seen as focussing on one complex and dangerous fictional character, but really it’s a much broader social commentary that is utterly striking and one of the most ambitious films of our time.