Explicit film studies Sexual Addiction
By: R Jay Molina
British independent filmmaker Steve McQueen delivers a powerful, character driven drama with his sophomore feature entitled “Shame.”
Controversy has been attached to this film since the Motion Picture Association of America, MPAA, slapped an NC-17 rating to the film last year. NC-17 means a film contains an abundance of adult content deemed too much for anyone under the age of 17 to handle. Unfortunately, what this also means is that films with this rating are heavily stigmatized, and as a result, go unseen. It can be argued that these types of films can be good character studies on drugs, violent behavior or sex.
With McQueen’s “Shame,” the audience is given an open window into to the life of Brandon Sullivan, a successful businessman in New York City, who uses his free time to indulge in various sexual acts in order to curb his hidden sexual addiction. His perfectly crafted double life is shaken by the arrival of his sister, Sissy, who is a bar singer floating around from place to place in a sea of uncertainty.
Michael Fassbender, an actor who has slowly been on the rise within the past year with films like “X-Men: First Class” and “A Dangerous Method,” delivers an emotionally exhausting, and brilliant performance that is easily the best of 2011. With McQueen at the helm, he is able to fade audiences into “Shame” and put them in Brandon’s shoes so by the time the film reaches its climax, the rug is pulled from under them.
Carey Mulligan, best known for films like “An Education” and “Drive,” delivers a performance that almost matches Fassbender. She does a fantastic job of playing the opposite of Fassbender’s “Brandon,” which is someone who is extroverted and unafraid to show pain. Mulligan nearly steals the show during a poignant scene in which she sings a slow rendition of “New York, New York.”
McQueen uses long takes and composes his shots in an unconventional way that may seem weird to some viewers. The movie is a character study in which everything about his life is mostly seen, not heard. The film does earn its NC-17 rating, but McQueen is a master of desensitizing his viewers to the point where the explicit scenes are devastating to watch.
One of the main questions to consider throughout the film is whether or not sexual addiction is real. Some psychologists are quick to discredit it as an addiction. But “Shame” paints a delicate, but ultimately brutal portrayal which suggests that sex addiction is just as real as a drug addiction.
“Shame” is easily one of the best dramas of the year, and Fassbender earns his stripes as one of the best working actors in both Hollywood and the independent industry.
