An excellent film with stunningly good performances from its leading actors I knew next to nothing about "Shame" before I watched it earlier today. I am rather glad that that was the case. Had I read any reviews of it or seen any details about it beforehand, I fear I might not have been keen to view it (given its subject matter). And what a pity that would have been - because "Shame" is a brilliant film, and just about the best recent release that I have seen for a very long time. Despite its nihilistic bleakness, it is an engrossing, thoughtful and intelligent movie.
Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a young single man in his 30s. He seems, on the surface, to have an enviable life. He lives in a smart Manhattan apartment. He works in an office (exactly what job he does is not spelt out) and earns enough to go in the evenings to expensive singles bars, high quality restaurants and what seem to be 5-star hotels. He does not have to think twice about taking taxis from A to B. And he can afford the services of a high-class prostitute. However, Brandon's life is not, in fact, as comfortable or secure as those outward trappings might suggest. He lives alone. He is addicted to passionless sex and to pornography. He finds it necessary to make eye contact with attractive women when commuting on the New York subway. And he has few, if any, real friends. Basically, Brandon is a deeply unhappy man. Out of the blue, his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) turns up and asks if she can stay with him for a few days. Brandon agrees. And, as a result, his life goes from bad to worse. Sissy, who is a cabaret singer, is the exact opposite of Brandon: she is an uninhibited extrovert. She embarrasses her brother in two ways. First, she has an affair with his boss David (James Badge Dale, an actor whom I have not come across before), who is married with children. Also, her presence in Brandon's apartment cramps his style somewhat. It makes it much more difficult for him to view pornography on his computer (which he does habitually), to have one-night stands there (again, something he does frequently) and to arrange for the services of a prostitute (another habit of his). Brandon, whose longest relationship to date lasted only four months, is essentially a sex addict. His life is empty. He never smiles. He is cold and unfeeling. And, although he perhaps does not realise it, he hates himself. "Shame" icily depicts the vacuum in Brandon's life and, in doing so, throws a spotlight on the shallowness of modern urban existence in much of the affluent western world.
The acting, direction and screenplay are quite simply excellent. Both Fassbender and Mulligan are superb. Indeed, Fassbender's performance is surely worthy of an Oscar. The soundtrack, which is varied, is also a plus point. It makes excellent use of Glenn Gould's recordings of keyboard music by Bach, for instance. Yes, there are a lot of sex scenes, many of them graphic. But all are germane to the plot and to the depiction of Brandon's flawed personality. "Shame" is film-making at its very best. 10/10.