Review No.22: Shame

So last week I reviewed A Dangerous Method a film in which Michael Fassbender goes through a lot of moral dilemmas having rough sex along the way. The film I saw last night, again at the brilliant Light House in Wolverhampton, was Shame a film in which Michael Fassbender goes through a lot of moral dilemmas having a multitude of sex along the way. Fassbender plays Brandon who is a sex addict although that word is never uttered we can see it from the very start due to his frequent use of internet porn and his hiring of hookers. Into his life comes his sister Sissy an equally troubled character who we are led to believe tried to harm herself several times and who gets into unfulfilling relationships with inappropriate men. The majority of the film looks at Brandon's compulsive disorder, his disjointed relationship with his sister and his brief fling with co-worker Marianne through these encounters we see Brandon learn how others see him and also why he needs to act in the way he does.

I have to say I loved almost everything about Shame and a lot of that has to do with the teaming of Fassbender and director Steve McQueen who worked together before on Hunger. As McQueen is a former artist he has a different eye for things than a standard director and the way Brandon's apartment looks is as important as what the characters say. In fact there aren't many words uttered in the first ten minutes just far too many shots of Fassbender's penis, but ladies might disagree, as he wanders through the streets of New York looking for his next lay. Fassbender is a powerful screen presence and for me this is his best performance since Hunger here his brooding eyes and quiet confidence reminded me a lot of Christian Bale in American Psycho. He is able to convey Brandon's personality without saying anything with his eyes doing most of the talking but I'm not discounting the script by McQueen and Abi Morgan the latter making up for The Iron Lady. Also worth a mention is Carey Mulligan who with this and Drive is turning into a very interesting actress and her and Fassbender make for a good duo as they make you believe the siblings may have had some sort of other relationship in the past. Mulligan also reveals her brilliant singing voice in a rendition of New York New York which is just heart-breaking and Fassbender's reaction is equally as powerful. Though not a perfect film, Shame isn't far off with every scene perfectly crafted and every shot thought about in the right way with two top notch performances this is going to take a lot of beating to knock it off my current Film of the Year perch.

Verdict: My favourite film of the year so far and it proves that McQueen and Fassbender are the perfect actor/director duo 9/10