Shame

Director Steve McQueen reunites with his Hunger star, Michael Fassbender, for this brutal story of sex-addiction. It is an addiction rarely seen on screen and McQueen shows it is every bit as degrading, harrowing and consuming as drugs or alcohol.

Fassbender is more than deserving of his nominations and wins for Best Actor during this ongoing award season. He strips himself down for the role, quite literally, and is a mesmerising mix of ferocity, lust, self-hatred and grief. Whether he will eclipse George Clooney at the Academy Awards remains to be seen but Fassbender has certainly done the mileage, even without considering that he spends a third of the film completely naked.

As for McQueen, he directs confidently, handling all manner of graphic sex scenes with class and works well with the dramatic score which gives a haunting atmosphere to the first and last scenes. McQueen puts in enough directorial flourishes, such as extremely long shots and lingering close-ups with no cut-away, just to remind everyone that this is an indie film. 

That said, some of these are unwelcome and really slow the pace of the film. We do not need to see extended shots of Fassbender jogging or Carrie Mulligan singing and we certainly don't need to hear all the specials read out in the restaurant scene. These could easily have been trimmed to allow for more story.

Story is certainly an area that could have been developed. The concept is very simple: a man is addicted to sex and the arrival of his sister only heightens his addiction. Nevertheless, whilst the scenes with Fassbender and Mulligan are the best of the film, the tension between the brother and sister never reaches the dark climax that audiences are expecting. Equally, their disturbing background – dismissed with a line, “We’re not bad people, we just come from a bad place” – is never adequately explored. Admittedly, ambiguity is often more intriguing than a full explanation but this was a missed opportunity and would have added more substance to the skeletal-thin plot.

However, this film is not expecting to win awards for screenwriting. This is designed to showcase one brave actor at the top of his game and Shame’s sights are firmly set on the Best Actor category.

Ultimately, this is a well-delivered and unforgiving look at sex addiction, boldly driven by a career-best performance from Fassbender. Give the man a gong.

★★★