Review of Shame (2011) by Antonio H — 14 May 2013

Some films try to send messages. Some try to provoke thought or debate. Some just observe a subject very closely so that we can see and, hopefully, learn interesting things about it. "Shame" is of the last type. It follows Brandon, a private-sector worker in a company with a good apartment.

Brandon is a sex addict. But I don't think it's strictly correct to say that the film is a study of a sex addict, like a lot of reviewers say. Rather, it is a study of the experience of someone who substitutes sex for most other forms of relationships. Brandon is not just addicted to sex; he substitutes sex for all relationships with friends, family and co-workers.

Is this an interesting subject for a film? It could be if the film could find interesting things to tell us about it. But what the film shows us is mostly what we already expect. We expect such a person as Brandon to be extremely lonely and ashamed of his private life, and to feel himself worthless. We expect his few existing relationships with others - like with his sister - to deteriorate, and new relationships to be shallow and short-lived.

The film tells us that Brandon's life is confused and frustrated, but it does not focus closely enough on bits of his behaviour that would give us insight into the conflicting emotions and thoughts that underlie the confusion and the frustration.

There are places where the film could do better by taking us to observe how Brandon feels and what he thinks, as opposed to what he does.