Review of Shame (2011) by Delwyn J — 20 Jun 2015
Fassbender is one of the best actors working today. His onscreen draw injects Brandon with such raw emotion, that he is both believable and sympathetic. Brandon is scum, and yet, he's not, as Fassbinder portrays him with such regret and self-disgust with to keep him feeling both fallible and human.
The direction is bracingly assured, McQueen unfurling lengthy, unbroken takes, following Brandon on a cathartic run through grey, anonymous streets in one scene while in another fixating obsessively on Mulligan's face during Sissy's painfully drawn-out nightclub rendition of 'New York, New York'.
Not for the faint-hearted, prudish or impatient, Shame is as complex and ambiguous as its characters.
This review of Shame (2011) was written by Delwyn J on 20 Jun 2015.
Shame has generally received positive reviews.
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