Review of Shame (2011) by Brett H — 14 Mar 2016

Shame is a devastating and frank depiction of a man, played by Michael Fassbender, who suffers from unrelenting sex addiction and the toll it takes on his day-to-day life as he tries to cope with his affliction.

Fassbender is a revelation in this film and his magnificent portrayal of Brandon is a sight to behold, he put himself out there in every way! Directed with class from rising artist-turned-director, Steve McQueen, this film is a challenging watch and certainly earns its NC-17 rating in the opening credits! A big part of the story, which is also extremely uncomfortable, is when his sister, Sissy, comes back into his life and there's an undertone of a salacious past between the two that borders on incest at times.

Sissy is played brilliantly by the fearless, Carey Mulligan, and her shining scene is a long, unbroken performance of a song she sings in a bar that made the cast weep upon hearing it. The film naturally takes some dark turns as Brandon gets further and further down the rabbit hole, but when he hits rock bottom and becomes DESPERATE for sex, he sinks so low it's hard to watch.

This is an honest, but strictly unique glimpse into the world of a sex addict that treats the subject matter with respect. but pulls no punches and it takes a mature viewer to appreciate this film.