What I’m Watching at Home: Shame

Viewed on January 2, 2013 on Netflix DVD

So continuing with the theme of addiction, Shame is about a guy dealing with sex addiction. This is one of the movies I wanted to see in theaters when it first came out in 2011, but I missed it. Now that I’ve finally caught it, I wish I had seen it on the big screen. This movie looks beautiful. It’s shot really well and is a pleasure to look at. There’s a scene where the main character Brandon (played by Michael Fassbender) is jogging through the streets of Manhattan. The camera pans alongside him as he runs, and that’s all the scene is, yet somehow it’s captivating. I bet it looked gorgeous at the theater.

Another reason I wish I saw it in theaters is because maybe I would have liked it more. There’s something about seeing a movie in the theater that adds weight to the film. It forces you to give it your undivided attention, which I think allows you to connect with the film more. I didn’t connect with Shame as much as I would have liked, mostly because I didn’t connect with its protagonist. Brandon isn’t a very likable person, which doesn’t mean he’s necessarily dislikable. He’s just kind of there. In Half Nelson, we got to see Ryan Gosling’s character come alive when he was teaching. I’m not sure we ever see Brandon come alive. He works, he has sex, he runs. He’s a zombie. Just look at how the movie opens.

It’s only after his sister, Sissy (played by Carey Mulligan), comes to stay with him in his apartment that we see him start to warm up a bit. We witness him show her some affection, and it’s almost sweet, but then the longer she’s there, the more we see how upset she makes him. At times he launches into rages at her. We’re never really sure why, though we surmise that they both were abused as kids, probably sexually. I think it causes both of them to act out sexually as adults, but where it seems to make Sissy desperate for love, including her brother’s, it causes Brandon to push her away and seek the only kind of intimacy he’s comfortable with: sex. And while all of that is interesting, it’s a little less than engaging because Brandon’s character is less than engaging.

I felt a little frustrated by Shame. I spent a lot of the movie wanting to know why these two were the way they were and then whether or not Brandon changes by the end. I don’t think writer/director Steve McQueen is concerned with the former, as he doesn’t focus on their past, and he leaves the latter open to interpretation. That means I didn’t really get the answers I wanted. But still I kind of liked the open ending. It caused me and my girlfriend, Stephanie, to discuss whether or not Brandon changes, and we both came up with different answers. I like that. And for the record, this is the more appropriate way to end a movie and yield discussion. Yeah, that was directed at you Sound of My Voice.

All said, I think this movie is worth giving it a shot. I definitely like it a little more now that I’ve thought and written about it. And Steve McQueen is a talented director. I love that he doesn’t rush his scenes. I think this just comes across as so confident and makes you feel like you’re in good hands, even if there were a couple of times when I wanted scenes to be over sooner than they were (I’m thinking of Sissy’s singing and Brandon’s ménage à trois). So what are you waiting for? Go rent this movie now and see what you think for yourself.

My Rating:

Shame
Director: Steve McQueen
Writers: Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady)

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