Check it out, there’s Michael Fassbender’s penis. And there it is again. In the first five minutes of Shame, Michael’s lower head gets more face time than his upper. And why shouldn’t it? That’s one impressive penis. I guarantee that despite the very adult material and depressing nature of Shame, nothing here is going to hinder Michael Fassbender’s rising star. This exposé, so to speak, isn’t going to hurt him at all.
Brandon Sullivan (Fassbender) is a sex addict. He has sex; he watches sex; he pays for sex; he masturbates. Constantly. I’m not sure how he gets anything else done. This is a mature portrait of a sex addict. He’s not happy. Nor is he a predator. Although he constantly acts out of aggressive sexual instinct, Brandon doesn’t force himself on anyone. He also never stops looking for an in. With anyone. We’re confused early when a woman keeps seeking his attention via answering machine. A guy that into sex? Why doesn’t he answer? This must be bad.
The woman turns out to be Brandon’s sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), who also has no problem showing her body in this film. Brandon catches her in his shower and she stands naked while they fight. And then comprehension sets in and you understand why Steve McQueen chose to disguise the relationship – Brandon doesn’t know how to relate to another outside the context of sex, hence he has no use for someone he has to treat a-sexually.
Problem is, Sissy shared the same shitty childhood. We get the feeling that she’s a bit of a sex addict, too, just in-between sugar daddies at the moment. This is where standard Hollywood milks this premise for comedic value. Shame looks instead for the discomfort the situation creates.
The material here is explicit. We stop shy of an erect penis, but there’s plenty of nudity and overt intercourse. There’s masturbation and public displays and homosexual clubs and up-against-hotel-window and a few things I’m not sure I can describe. It reminded me of two films, both of which I didn’t especially care for – Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain and Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, the common thread being the forbidden subject matter is supposed to cover an otherwise weak story. Are we so wrapped up in the sex that we forget about the missing plot? Maybe. I like Shame better than those films, but not by much. The film is dour and a bit empty. Much like the audience, Brandon doesn’t like his life; he doesn’t like being an addict, but he doesn’t know another way. And it’s clear even from a date scene that he can’t stand anticipation – get to the foreplay already. The audience is treated that way as well – in a character study type of movie, our studied character doesn’t do very much; may as well get back to the action.
So despite all the wild sex, Shame is slow moving, heavy and depressing. Best case scenario has us rooting for an addict to get back to his addiction, because he doesn’t seem complete without it. Shame indeed.
Rated NC-17, 101 Minutes
D: Steve McQueen
W: Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen
Genre: Risqué
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: It’s rated NC-17, what do you think?
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: See above
