SHAME ( 2011 ) – The Review

Golden Globes viewers hopefully caught George Clooney’s very witty acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture in THE DESCENDANTS. He singled out a couple of the other nominees and teased Michael Fassbender for baring all in SHAME. Movie goers might go to this NC-17 rated film in anticipation of a titillating bedroom romp featuring two of cinema’s most exciting young stars. But the explicit scenes lose their erotic lure fairly quickly. Sex in this story is used much as drinking was used in the Billy Wilder classic THE LOST WEEKEND. What starts as a fun and glamorous activity turns quickly into degradation and abuse. Both film’s heroes are out of control, flawed men who must hit rock bottom before they change their behavior and save their lives.

Brandon Sullivan ( Fassbender ) seems to be single thirty-something who has it all. He’s got a lush ( probably very expensive ) apartment in the heart of the Big Apple. But something’s not quite right. His answering machine ( mmm, people still have those! ) is filled with messages from frustrated dates and conquests ( as the film progresses one caller’s pleas take on many tones: angry, inquisitive, sarcastic, etc.). He does live internet sex chats and orders up call girls as you get pizza delivered. In the morning, after pleasuring himself in the shower, he downs energy drinks and drifts into his office. There his sleazy, married boss David ( James Badge Dale ) enlists Brandon as his “wing man” has they troll for women during ” happy hour “. Brandon’s lifestyle is disrupted by the arrival of his kid sister, Sissy ( Carey Mulligan ). She’s coming off another failed relationship and needs a place in NYC to crash while her singing gig at a club lasts. Her behavior is a wake-up call to him ( Sissy pleads with former beaus on the phone, just as the desperate women on his machine ), and Brandon must decide how he will live the rest of his life.

Director Steve McQueen ( no relation to the Hollywood icon ) elicits strong performances from both main actors. Mulligan’s Sissy is a battered, bruised soul. Her breathy, hesitant rendition of the old staple ” New York, New York ” expresses her longing for someone who’ll stick by her. But the film is really Brandon’s story and Fassbender exposes much more than just flesh. Brandon is a spiralling out-of-control sex addict, who slowly wakes up to see how his actions destroy himself and those all around him. He hopes that a relationship with a co-worker will put him back on the right path, but his fractured psyche will not be so easily healed. By the time we see him on an erotic bender, sex has little enjoyment, it’s almost mechanical. McQueen gives us a quiet, low-key, dimly lit Manhattan that offers all manner of temporary cures for the lonely, broken hearts. There’s no easy solutions or quick-fixes ( for that matter, we never really find out the reasons for Brandon and Sissy’s dysfunctions ) in this sad, powerful tale but like Ray Milland in THE LOST WEEKEND, Fassbender’s Brandon can hope to find the strength to battle his inner demons one day at a time. The film drags a bit in its final third, but thanks to the work of Mulligan and Fassbender, it’s worth spending an evening with this damaged duo.

Overall Rating: Four Out of Five Stars