Review of Shame (2011) by Greg D — 12 Jul 2013

I may be only giving this a 4.5 instead of a 5 because I am not sure how many more times I could actually watch it, if I am able to even watch it again. This depressing film doesn't tear at your heart because you don't really feel for Fassbender in the "I wish I could help him" sort of way but rather in the "he is just a really depressing person" sort of way.

Films about addiction are typically not the happiest and Shame is certainly not that with the addiction being sexually related. Hookers, sex cams, casual sex, hardcore sex, back of clubs oral sex, and constant masturbation are enough to drill viewers over the head with his addiction.

Where the film is most successful is in the way Fassbender very subtly develops. No his addiction does not fade, but rather his seemingly uncaring personality becomes much more stricken with emotion starting when his sister, Mulligan, crashes at his place.

He cries when he sees her sing at a club (an amazing showing of acting on behalf of Mulligan and Fassbender with the camera seemingly never cutting in glorious long take), he furiously yells at her in another moment, and this leads to her eventual suicide attempt, which she evidently has done several times before.

Part of Fassbender's transition is also seen in another long take at dinner with a beautiful woman. The awkwardness of the first date (we've all been there) with the awkward waiter is played out so perfectly and hilariously and McQueen's way of just letting the moment in time play out is perfect.

With the suicide attempt, comes the mildly cliched raining emotional breakdown but it is played out in a beautiful way with much of the credit again going to Fassbender's convincing meltdown. This film is an actor's film by the amount of long takes presented.

Viewers get to see how things play out in real time, no cutting necessary. There are moments of brutal honestly and brutal imagery. This is a powerful film, one that I would think nobody could forget.