- diving into sexual deviancy head
first.
Shame is rated 'NC-17' in the United
States and 'R' in Canada, but I'll be trying to make this review PG
to fit in with my prior reviews (due to my desire to eventually put
terrible ads in here and they tend not to like adult content).
Shame, just like Young Adult, is a movie that I heard mumblings about
prior to the Oscars and then even more so when it got snubbed at the
nominations. Unlike Young Adult, however, after watching Shame, I
know for sure that it should have received at least one nomination
(best male lead), especially since that category was really lacking
in quality dark performances.
Shame quickly lays down the dark and
offensive (although not to this reviewer) lifestyle of the character
Brandon Sullivan (as played by Michael Fassbender). Within the first
five minutes you see two sexual encounters (different women each
time), multiple sights of full-frontal male nudity and a back-on
scene of Fassbender urinating. If the first five minutes don't bother
you, the movie itself will likely not offend you, although maybe the
insinuated sexual act between two males might, but then if this
actually bothers you, stop reading this review, stop reading my blog
and go about your business. The point of the movie isn't to offend,
it's to show the struggling life of Brandon, who the viewer is to
assume, has a sexual deviancy problem. I am saying it is a problem,
based solely on the fact that it is getting in the way of his work
while ultimately causing harm to others and himself through emotional
and physical means.
Through the course of the 1 hour and 41
minute movie, Brandon has quite a few sexual encounters, none of
which show either partner using any sort of protection from STD's. In
most scenes in the home, the audience can hear sex-related sounds
coming from his computer and in one particular scene at work
Brandon's boss suggests that perhaps an intern has put all this
terrible pornography on his computer. The scene just kind of ends
when Brandon leaves due to a fortunate interruption, but the scene is
there for the viewer to see that his addiction to pornography exists
even in the workplace.
The acting in the movie, though limited
to two main actors and just a few supporting characters is quite
good. Michael Fassbender has continued to show his skills as an
actor, well-deserving of recognition and big-time roles. I've seen
him in a handful of movies and he is often a scene stealer and never
fails to impress; he ruled X-Men First Class along with James McAvoy.
Micheal Fassbender is actually the reason I gave this movie a second
glance after hearing of the Oscar snub, although I didn't know I was
going to see so much of him in the movie. Speaking of seeing a lot
of, I was surprised to see so much of co-star Carey Mulligan (playing
the role of Sissy) in the movie. Her relationship with Brandon's
character and how their relationship progressed is something that
should be explored in detail, but sadly, is never focused on at all.
It probably would have ruined the pacing of the movie.
 |
| Probably the only picture I found with a male and female that is PG from the movie. |
I've seen that some moviegoers had a
problem with the pacing of the movie, but I disagree. Two sequences
of note are the slow singing of “New York, New York“ at about
half-speed by Sissy, and the scene when Brandon goes running to get
his mind off Sissy having sex in his apartment. There is quite a bit
to be learnt about Sissy's character from her average singing of the
song. Sissy's past is not specifically indicated, however, the
audience is given the overall feeling that she has a troubled past.
Her short conversation and some reactions between her and Brandon
really make a lot of the film flow well. Hiding each other's past and
giving the viewer only hints was beautifully ingenious of SteveMcQueen (director/writer) and Abi Morgan (writer). The other
supposedly dragged out scene, I just didn't feel was a problem.
Brandon's running sequence seemed rather short in comparison to the
singing scene.
When the movie ended I found that I
just wanted a little more of the story; it ends too abruptly and
while I understand that not all movies end with a bang, it's just like this sentence that ends with...
I give the movie 8/10
PS: Woman On Subway Train (played by
Lucy Walters) certainly is stunning and I loved their little game of
cat and mouse.
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