I saw Shame and it made me want to take a shower. I mean that as a huge compliment to director Steve McQueen as his film succeeds in making the viewer feel the sad, dirty depths to which one man will stoop. Shame is a meditation in sex addiction and the dysfunctional relationship between two distant siblings. Michael Fassbender (M. Fassy if you’re nasty) is fearless here as Brandon Sullivan, baring all (ladies read: all.nude.everything.) and diving headfirst into territory rarely seen on film. There are a million films about the downward spiral of drug and alcohol addiction yet very few about sex addiction. There’s a level of comfort here that Fassbender embodies in his sexual candor and lack of inhibition that goes past your standard movie “o” face. For a film called Shame, Fassy has none. And it’s incredible to watch.
If you close your eyes and imagine what a sex addict might look like your mind may picture a Ron Jeremy type of character. Not the handsome, charismatic, and successful Brandon. He floats through a series of empty encounters with prostitutes, strangers, webcam girls, and even desperately rubs one out in his office bathroom. We witness lots of sex, most of which isn’t what you would call sexy. And while tons of kudos belong to director Steve McQueen, Fassbender is the reason to see this uncomfortable (but beautifully shot!) film.
Brandon’s lonely existence is disrupted by the arrival of his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan). Mulligan is not my favorite (true story!) and here she doesn’t completely win me over but she does try. Perhaps a little too hard. This role is an unflattering one, and not in the way where an actress gains eight pounds and says she is method. Camera close-ups, misguided costuming choices, and an unsexy nude scene ask her to give it all. And Mulligan does. The problem is she’s not strong enough to steal any scenes from Fassy. Their interactions are cold, and though there are glimpses of light it’s obvious they share a dark past. “We’re not bad people, we just come from a very dark place” Mulligan whispers into Brandon’s answering machine one night. And after seeing the affects of this dark place, you hope that you never have to go there.
