Shame Review

Rated NC-17 (Some Explicit Sexual Content)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 41 Minutes

Cast-

Michael Fassbender-Brandon Sullivan

Carey Mulligan-Sissy Sullivan

James Badge Dale-David Fisher

Nicole Beharie-Marianne

Elizabeth Masucci-Elizabeth

Directed by Steve McQueen

Michael Fassbender stars in Steve McQueen's "Shame," one of the best films of 2011.

Addiction. Drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc., it matters not what your poison is as the emotions that all addicts suffer through is universal. It gets to the point where there is only the addiction as you spiral out of control into a never-ending cycle of self-hate and loathing until you are left alone with…shame. You know to continue is wrong as your compulsive urges have long ceased to grant you any satisfaction but stopping ultimately becomes a futile effort even if you desperately wanted to. This is “Shame” in a nutshell, the latest film from British auteur Steve McQueen which stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan. Fassbender has been on quite a roll in recent years, appearing in no less than four films in 2011 including Cary Fukunaga’s adaptation of the famous 1847 Charlotte Brontë novel “Jane Eyre,” the Marvel Comics prequel “X-Men First Class,” David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” where he plays world-renowned Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, and now “Shame.” Even more impressive is that all of these films have received critical praise, especially for Fassbender. 2012 looks to be a big year as well as he is set to appear in Steven Soderbergh’s action-packed “Haywire” in January and the highly anticipated “Prometheus” in June, a semi-prequel to 1979’s “Alien” with Ridley Scott back at the helm. Brilliantly shot by McQueen and boasting standout performances from Fassbender and Mulligan, “Shame” is by far one of the best films of 2011 as it plunges audiences into a haunting and harrowing character study of a man consumed by his addiction yet is unable to escape his hellish existence even as his life begins to fall apart around him. 

Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) is an attractive, successful businessman in his thirties living in New York City but he leads an isolated life in a sterile Manhattan apartment and forms no real connections. Unbeknownst to everyone around him, Brandon suffers from a debilitating addiction to sex where his daily routine consists of masturbating at every opportunity, watching violent pornography on his work computer, interacting with cam girls on his home laptop, and paying for expensive call-girls in a desperate but futile search for human companionship. Sometimes he accompanies his married boss David (James Badge Dale) to bars in order to hook up with women for a one-night stand. Brandon always succeeds with little effort with his quiet yet suave mannerisms while David comes off too strong and obvious in his intentions. Brandon arrives home one night to find his troubled sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), a deadbeat jazz singer, with nowhere to go and begging for a place to stay. He reluctantly lets her live with him at his apartment but this arrangement soon wrecks havoc on his structured life as he finds himself recklessly spiraling out of control and plunging into a hell in which he cannot escape from. 

Sex addiction was acknowledged in 1987 as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association and was defined as ‘distress about a pattern of repeated sexual conquests or other forms of non-paraphilic sexual addiction, involving a succession of people who exist only as things to be used’ but this was removed in 2000 and whether it is an actual disorder has remained up for debate. It continues to be treated as little more than a joke in films and television since our brains are hardwired to consider the act of sex and therefore orgasms as pleasurable but “Shame” treats sex addiction as no laughing matter. At first the film appears to tell a fairly conventional narrative but do not be fooled as the film proves the age-old adage that looks can be deceiving. Set to a haunting melodic score from Harry Escott, the opening shot shows Michael Fassbender’s Brandon staring blankly at the camera with the bed sheets rumpled around his bare mid-section. He stands up fully nude and listens to the voice mail of a woman pleading with him to pick-up the phone before getting into the shower and masturbating. This routine is intercut with scenes of Brandon riding the subway to work and staring intently at a pretty woman (Lucy Walters) sitting across from him. She smiles back and flirts by slowly crossing her legs but he continues to stare with the same blank expression from before. The woman leaves when the subway arrives at her stop but not before subtly flashing her engagement ring at Brandon, who desperately tries to follow to no avail. He arrives late to work and finds his computer being hauled away due to a virus infection. Later, Brandon sneaks off into the men’s bathroom to masturbate again. He ends the night by having sex with an expensive call-girl and the cycle continues anew the next day. The interesting thing about these scenes is that very little is actually said and what is ends up being mundane and ultimately inconsequential. However, even though Brandon rarely utters a word, his expression already reveals everything we need to know about him. The opening shot of Brandon is one of depression on the verge of suicide and even when he masturbates, his face is absent of any pleasure, only desperation and even pain. McQueen’s framing is very calculated as he utilizes long takes where his camera lingers for minutes at a time. He depicts New York City as a place of contrasts with upscale yet sterile apartments and grimy streets covered with graffiti. It is a way to symbolize how Brandon presents a clean exterior of normalcy but hides something ugly deep inside him. 

Once Sissy arrives to live with Brandon, that’s when his life starts to unravel. At first, the film does not even reveal that she is his sister and we initially assume that they are estranged lovers given the way they behave around each other until an off-handed comment is made. The two are unperturbed at seeing each other naked and it is implied that they suffered a traumatic event in their childhood but McQueen keeps his cards close to the chest as much is left up to the viewer’s interpretation. Brandon and Sissy are both troubled individuals desperately looking to make an emotional connection but the two go about it in different ways with one seeking it from casual sex and the other by clinging obsessively to anyone who pays attention. We expect Sissy to help Brandon reach redemption and realize that he is leading a hollow existence but this is not that type of film where there is a happy ending. The final third of the film has brother and sister sitting a little too closely and having a tense argument until Brandon gets up to leave and delivers an ultimatum: Sissy has to be out of his apartment by the time he comes back. This is when McQueen delves into darker territory as we find Brandon wandering the streets looking for relief. He is refused entry into a nightclub and walks into a dingy gar bar where a man performs fellatio on him. His face is one of anguish and self-loathing at his addiction. Later, Brandon finds himself in a threesome with two women but as he reaches orgasm, the release gives him no satisfaction and it is apparent that he has become a shell of a man. The final scenes show Brandon displaying at least some measure of care for a human being but it ends where it began at a fork in the road: on the subway staring into the eyes of the same attractive woman. 

What really makes “Shame” such a compelling watch are the powerhouse performances from Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan. The two bare not just their bodies but also their souls. Fassbender succeeds in the incredible feat of making you sympathize with what is essentially a selfish character and the audience is made to wallow in his self-hate and loathing with him. The dialogue appears to be improvised but the most effective scenes are the ones in which he says nothing and this actually wrings quite a lot of suspense as it feels as if an explosion is about to take place. Much of the emotion is below the surface; the only time in which Brandon’s armor cracks is in this powerful moment where he finds himself at a New York pier and screams in anguish at his suffering. Fassbender has given an Academy Awards-worthy performance in every sense of the world and I would be really glad if he took home the golden statuette as no one deserves it more. Carey Mulligan has a less substantial role as the film is filtered through Brandon’s eyes but she also gives an amazing performance. Mulligan has this one scene that encapsulates everything this film is about where she sings Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York and transforms it from a song about celebrating your dreams into longing and regret. McQueen’s camera focuses on her throughout the four minutes with occasional cuts to Brandon, who is deeply affected and even sheds a tear because he knows what she is going through. The two appear fully nude in several instances although it is mainly Fassbender. While it is rated NC-17, the nudity is no more substantial than what you would see in an R-rated film such as David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” but what did you expect from the MPAA with its puritanical view of sex? It almost feels as if the consumer/ratings organization is ashamed, which I find humorously ironic considering the subject of this review. The sex scenes form an organic part of the story, functioning as a way to delve into Brandon’s mindset and are not meant to arouse. I admire the fact that Fox Searchlight Pictures did not appeal the rating and wore it as a badge of honor. 

In limited release since December 2, 2011, “Shame” has received largely positive reviews with a solid 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. I must admit I was expecting higher considering the glowing praise the film has received and continues to receive. Critics hailed it as ‘a powerful plunge into the mania of addiction affliction.’ The widest release has been 55 theaters so do not expect an expansion. The film has grossed $4.4 million worldwide against an estimated $6.5 million production budget but I doubt a director like McQueen cares about such things. I viewed the film in the morning and audience attendance was middling at best since this will only appeal to a very niche group. “Shame” is not a film one enjoys as it’ll leave you feeling cold and hollow as you leave the theater but it is a powerful piece of cinema with performances that has rivaled everything I have seen so far. I have found my best film of 2011.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

“We're not bad people. We just come from a bad place.”