Review of Shame (2011) by Patrick M — 03 Jun 2013

"Shame" is a 2011 drama, a character study about sex addiction directed by Steve McQueen (Hunger).

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a successful and handsome, but lonely advertising executive. His life revolves around sex and his need of it, picking up girls at night clubs, chasing random women, and sleeping with hookers among many other things. Everything is going fine until his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) shows up at his apartment in need of a place to stay. Brandon tries to keep the life he's been living a secret to her.

Michael Fassbender is intense as Brandon, you can tell he really got into the character, kind of like Robert De Niro in "Raging Bull". The editing is amazing, the way it presents Brandon's life at the beginning of the movie is brilliant. The soundtrack gives the movie a dramatic touch, making the movie even more emotional. The cinematography is pretty artsy, just like Steve McQueen's previous movie "Hunger", and gives the movie a certain intimacy other movies don't have.

There's not one performance I didn't like in it, even the little ones were great. I loved the script, the dialogue was very interesting with references to movies like "Gimme Shelter" and in a scene where Brandon is trying to pick up a girl at a bar, but she's already with someone.

For me, "Shame" is the best movie of 2011 and one of the best of the decade and I believe Steve McQueen is a director to look out for in the future, with his upcoming "Twelve Years a Slave" coming out soon, he's destined to be one of the great directors of our generation.

I'd recommend it to people who liked either "Taxi Driver", "Requiem for a Dream", or "Mysterious Skin".