Shame is the only film that will be reviewed in this post. I will likely be switching to a one-movie-per-post format after I finish up with all the filmcaps for the year 2011, which is just one more after this post. You can also look for my long-awaited best films of 2011 very soon, working on that now.
Shame (Steve McQueen, UK, 2011): Sex addiction needs to be taken seriously. That's the thesis for Steve McQueen's drama about a man who has a dangerous addiction to all things sexual pleasure. The problem of sex addiction is a serious problem, and it never seems to get the same attention that drug or alcohol addiction receives. McQueen and his actor Michael Fassbender, succeed in showing a man who is going through a problem that feels very real, and they always avoid showing sex as something is pleasurable. Any addiction, especially addiction to self-pleasure, is always rooted in the feeling of replenishment rather than feeling actual pleasure. Fassbender and McQueen do a wonderful service in making sure that never do we see the main character, Brandon, ever feel pleasure or happiness from the sex acts. During a now-notorious three way sex scene towards the end of the film, the face of Brandon is filled with anger and ferocity.
McQueen has a wonderfully patient style that lets us into Brandon's mind, and McQueen once again directs Fassbender to another great performance (Hunger was McQueen's first film in which Fassbender gives probably his best ever performance). While the movie does the best job possible in showing an addiction and the harmful effects it can have on that person and the people around him or her, the movie cannot be great because it doesn't go past that in a way that makes Brandon into a truly personal character. The reasons for sex addiction, and why Brandon initially had an emptiness that needed sex to be filled up are glossed over. Instead of being a true character portrait, the movie is more a portrait of sex addiction in general, and it feels more like a message movie than a movie in which we experience what real people are experiencing. Nonetheless, the depiction of sex addiction is still mighty strong and makes the film very worth watching. McQueen and Fassbender surprised and amazed me with Hunger, a more experimental and unique film, and while they don't top that one, they once again showcase their immense talents by making what could have been a standard addiction drama, into something with a bit more emotion and art.
Grade: B+
No comments:
Post a Comment