By ALAN SAMUEL
Emotional struggle and conflict plague a 30-something man in Shame, a devastating look at a lost soul from Alliance Films now making an impact at the International Village Cinemas
Intense is the best way to describe the latest drama from Allliance Films helmed by the trendy and edgy director Steve McQueen (Hunger). No relation to the famed actor from the 60s, our cutting edge filmmaker takes on a whirlwind tour of the life of one messed up New Yorker named Brandon Sullivan. Fleshed out to perfection by the underrated Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), our Brandon is a man on the make. Not content with spending his time watching dirty movies on the computer, this man likes to act out his fantasies. One has to wonder how so many eager women are happy to oblige in his sick, wicked ways. And there are loads of always attractive ladies ready to get down to business between the sheets with this wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Different strokes for different folks I guess, but in Shame most of the women are used as cannon fodder as additional notches in this sick soul’s belt. Even Brandon’s work-mates seem constantly on the make, ready and willing to make out with each female they run across. No one is immune from the debauchery and the wild fantasies these men share. Little is left to the imagination when Brandon sets his sights on a willing victim and the sexual content is graphic and at times grueling, not to mention painful for all concerned, no matter how it’s presented.
Crisis is a big part of what happens in Shame and for once we have a title to a movie that perfectly reflects it’s content. While this “player” roams the streets of New York we’re thrown into an even darker crevice when a woman, from out of nowhere appears on the scene. Related by blood to Brandon he gets the shock of his life when Sissy reappears on the scene. In a truly sizzling performance the superb actress Carey Mulligan (An Education) again shows why she’s one of the best young actresses out there when she “confronts” her brother out of some desperate need. Now we have two highly “bent” people trying to live together against an unbelievable background of sex and drugs with bed hopping and surviving seemingly a viable option. How these two relate to one another gives Shame even more of a bent and the emotional drama put on display simply sizzles. And, as an added bonus, Ms. Mulligan sings up a storm as a starving young artist trying to reconnect with her long lost brother.
101 minutes of intense struggle bursts forth in Shame. Standout acting from all concerned, including a bit by Nicole Beharie (The Express) as Marianne, another fling of the day for Brandon, makes Shame even more of a guilty pleasure. Hard to watch at times, Shame is one of the few films concerning obsession and internet porn and all its weird manifestations a rather spending send-off, despite its truly seedy nature.
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