Shame (2011)
Directed by Steve McQueen
Written by Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan
Starring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan
Release Date December 2nd, 2011
Published November 28th, 2011
In my role as a film critic and member of the Broadcast Film Critics, I am grateful for the opportunity to receive what the industry calls "screeners" of movies that studios want me to consider for our end of the year awards show The Critic's Choice Movie Awards on VH1. It was in this capacity that I was able to see and review the much buzzed about indie movie "Shame," starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.
"Shame" is the story of an extremely self-involved man and his addiction to porn. Directed by indie darling Steve McQueen and starring rising star Fassbender, "Shame" is a character portrait about a character you're not all that interested in spending time with.
A Severe Addiction to Pornography
Brandon (Fassbender) is a handsome guy who tends to hold people's gazes a little longer than he should. Yes, he's good looking but he has a creepiness in his eyes that has likely contributed to his still being single in his 30s. Well, that and his rather severe addiction to pornography.
So severe is Brandon's addiction to online pornography that one day he arrives at work and his computer is gone, taken after IT found a massive store of porn and viruses in it. Thankfully, Brandon's boss and friend David (James Badge Dale) is convinced that the porn was the work of an intern, not Brandon.
Sister Act
Brandon's less than covert addiction to porn runs into a major obstacle when his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) shows up in his apartment unexpectedly. Sissy is a failed singer who subsists on occasional gigs singing in bars and restaurants. For the most part she sponges off of the men in her life, especially her brother. With Sissy sleeping on his couch and seemingly living in every corner of his life, Brandon's secret addiction is precariously balanced and his "shame" stands to be exposed at any moment to the last significant person in his life.
"Shame"-Less
Fassbender's performance in "Shame" is admirably brave given how often the actor is called on to be nude onscreen. Credit Fassbender for not having so much "shame" when it came to showing all onscreen. That said, there isn't much about Brandon I wanted to see.
Brandon is a bad guy; he's a jerk to his sister, the one person who honestly cares about him. He's allowed his porn addiction to become so severe that actual intimacy with a real person is physically impossible; though emotion-free, bought and paid for hook-ups with prostitutes still get his engine revved.
A Childlike Vulnerability
I get that Brandon is supposed to be a tragic figure but it is Sissy who, for me, was the more interesting tragedy. Carey Mulligan has a face that earns your sympathy with little effort. Her soft, dewy eyes and puffy cheeks give Mulligan a childlike quality that is addictively sympathetic. It's Mulligan's childlike vulnerability that gives her brief nudity more power than Fassbender's frequent nakedness.
Get Away, Creep!
"Shame" is supposed to pack an emotional wallop but I found most of it emotionally inert. Brandon never becomes sympathetic, merely sad and pathetic. I did pity Brandon but, more than anything, I just wanted to get away from him before his next bit of active creepiness.
"Shame" opens in limited release on Friday, December 2, and will expand as far as its NC-17 rating will allow as the awards season continues.
