Shame
1/4
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
Rated NC-17 for Some Explicit Sexual Content
I was wary of seeing "Shame" after suffering through Steve McQueen's (not the legendary epitome of cool) first "film," "Hunger." That film boasted an interesting premise: the last days of hunger striker Bobby Sands (also played by Michael Fassbender), but it was ruined by an extraordinary amount of self-indulgence (an hour of people beating the crap out of each other, screaming and smearing feces on the walls...compelling stuff to be sure). "Shame" suffers from the same problem: good premise, excessive ego.
Brandon (Fassbender) is a young professional living in New York City. He's handsome, but quiet and reserved. His boss, the fast talking womanizer (who is in fact married) David (Dale), likes him. So do a few of his co-workers. But what no one knows is that Brandon is a sex-addict. He is driven by a need for sexual release. It consumes him every single moment of the day. But when his sister Sissy (Mulligan) moves in, it shakes up his whole world.
Or at least that's what the synopsis says. The film is so lacking in content that I wouldn't have gathered that had I not read it.
Body language does not make a movie. Or a character. It is used to enhance a character that is developed through dialogue and action. It is too limiting to drive a story in and of itself. While it's true that there are exceptions to this rule (including a scene in this film...Brandon is seen having sex with two women late in the movie, and we can see his pain), watching untold amounts of time watching Brandon look sullen and staring out a window adds nothing to the film or his character. Because McQueen insists on showing Brandon do this as much as possible, I grew bored and irritated. I felt nothing for Brandon, nor did I understand his drives and impulses.
The acting is surprisingly weak. Michael Fassbender, usually an impeccable performer, is flat. Part of that has to do with the lack of dialogue and action, but many of his big scenes don't land because he is too low-key. Also weak is Carey Mulligan. This is also surprising, considering how good she was in "An Education." The only other member of the cast that has a significant amount of screen time is James Badge Dale, who is quickly becoming an actor to watch.
The film looks fantastic, and has a moderately effective scene here and there ("Hunger" had one excellent scene between Fassbender and Liam Cunningham), but that doesn't excuse 100 minutes of self-indulgence and boredom.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
Rated NC-17 for Some Explicit Sexual Content
I was wary of seeing "Shame" after suffering through Steve McQueen's (not the legendary epitome of cool) first "film," "Hunger." That film boasted an interesting premise: the last days of hunger striker Bobby Sands (also played by Michael Fassbender), but it was ruined by an extraordinary amount of self-indulgence (an hour of people beating the crap out of each other, screaming and smearing feces on the walls...compelling stuff to be sure). "Shame" suffers from the same problem: good premise, excessive ego.
Brandon (Fassbender) is a young professional living in New York City. He's handsome, but quiet and reserved. His boss, the fast talking womanizer (who is in fact married) David (Dale), likes him. So do a few of his co-workers. But what no one knows is that Brandon is a sex-addict. He is driven by a need for sexual release. It consumes him every single moment of the day. But when his sister Sissy (Mulligan) moves in, it shakes up his whole world.
Or at least that's what the synopsis says. The film is so lacking in content that I wouldn't have gathered that had I not read it.
Body language does not make a movie. Or a character. It is used to enhance a character that is developed through dialogue and action. It is too limiting to drive a story in and of itself. While it's true that there are exceptions to this rule (including a scene in this film...Brandon is seen having sex with two women late in the movie, and we can see his pain), watching untold amounts of time watching Brandon look sullen and staring out a window adds nothing to the film or his character. Because McQueen insists on showing Brandon do this as much as possible, I grew bored and irritated. I felt nothing for Brandon, nor did I understand his drives and impulses.
The acting is surprisingly weak. Michael Fassbender, usually an impeccable performer, is flat. Part of that has to do with the lack of dialogue and action, but many of his big scenes don't land because he is too low-key. Also weak is Carey Mulligan. This is also surprising, considering how good she was in "An Education." The only other member of the cast that has a significant amount of screen time is James Badge Dale, who is quickly becoming an actor to watch.
The film looks fantastic, and has a moderately effective scene here and there ("Hunger" had one excellent scene between Fassbender and Liam Cunningham), but that doesn't excuse 100 minutes of self-indulgence and boredom.
Comments
Post a Comment