Shame
2011
****
Director: Steve McQueen
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie
Steve McQueen's second film is a powerful contemporary drama about addiction and loneliness. Brandon is a single and successful New York professional, and an emotionally crippled sex addict whose desperate existence is exposed when his troubled sister comes for a visit. These two dysfunctional souls carry unspecified scars from their childhood, the repercussions of which are heartbreaking. There are two towering performances at the heart of the film. The excellent Michael Fassbender once again throws himself full-on into the role without repeating the cruelling physical transformation he went through for McQueen's Hunger. Carey Mulligan, often typecast in the same quiet ethereal part, is a revelation as Sissy.
