SHAME
Directed by: Steve McQueen
Written by: Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, and Nicole Beharie
When most of us hear the term “sex addiction,” we laugh or dismiss it. Perhaps you can blame our advancements in technology and social networking for propagating a lack of intimacy. The new film, SHAME, is one of the first to take an unflinching and raw look at this disease. And by staying true to its subject material, it earns every inch of its NC-17 rating. On the surface, the film’s logline is rather uncomplicated – one man’s world is rocked when his sister comes to visit. However, therein lies the layers of complications which arise out of this man’s struggle.
Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) is a successful thirtysomething who suffers from a nasty sex addiction. And what better city to set this in than New York, a town that lends itself to the “meet a new person every night” mentality? Brandon has carefully constructed and compartmentalized his introverted lifestyle. He hires hookers, picks up random women basically anywhere, jerks off in his work’s bathroom stall, and has tons of porn stashed on his home computer and – more troubling – work computer. When his extremely extroverted sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) comes to visit, it turns Brandon’s world upside down. Sissy is the polar opposite of, and brilliant contrast to, Brandon. He’s imploding and she’s exploding. She craves attention, the limelight, and when you get right down to it… love. In fact, she even plays the on-the nose Chic song “I Want Your Love” in Brandon’s apartment when her character is introduced. She’s in his face, flaunting her over-sexed nature, and this disgusts Brandon. He’s looking for someone to blame for his crumbling sanity, but he ought not look further than a mirror.
This is an assured and steadied rendering by two master craftsmen at work: director Steve McQueen and his collaborator-muse Fassbender. It’s incredibly difficult to see our hero spiral out of control given that Fassbender has imbued his performance with such a visceral vulnerability. It’s an all-encompassing, heavy burden Brandon’s forced to carry. His struggle is palpable and heartbreaking. You root for him to triumph over his addiction and are deeply saddened when he succumbs to his preternatural cravings. Here is a man yearning to change, who intrinsically cannot. McQueen and co-screenwriter Morgan have handled the complex subject matter with such respect and authenticity. What’s so astounding is that viewers can assess – without any expository dialogue – that something happened in Brandon and Sissy’s past that forced them to each go to their particular extremes. Sissy states, “We’re not bad people. We just come from a bad place.”
When Fassbender is in any film with a scene set in a bar, magic will happen (ex. INGLORIOUS BASTERDS and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS). And there are two seductive bar scenes here, one handled much more covertly than overtly, but both are equally swoon-inducing thanks to Fassbender’s unique and deft execution. They’re sure to ignite ladies’ panties throughout this nation.
Harry Escott’s score, dominated by a briskly paced ticking metronome, is our window into Brandon’s brain. Never skipping a beat, audiences are on the edge waiting for our protagonist’s primal urges to be satisfied. And he’s always looking for his next fix. For the viewer, this is like waiting for a bomb to explode. He knows he’s doing wrong, but his insatiable needs must be met. Cinematography from Sean Bobbitt allows viewers to voyeuristically be in the room but not be seen. It’s an ever-so-subtle difference when Bobbitt and McQueen choose to go handheld after Sissy’s arrival, but it adds to the dramatic impact.
Viewers may leave the theater feeling conflicted, and rightfully so, as this is not a feel-good holiday film. SHAME will haunt you for days, maybe even weeks after. However, there’s no “shame” in that. What we are able to witness for those brief two hours is well-crafted filmmaking at its finest.
SHAME opens in limited release on December 2.
