SHAME directed by Steve McQueen (UK, 2011)
Shame is a defining film about manhood; as groundbreaking as movies like Taxi Driver, American Gigolo and Blue Velvet.
What each of these films have in common is that they don’t shy away from the darker aspects of humanity and the limitless ambiguities surrounding male sexuality.
If this movie had been made in Hollywood it would probably have starred someone like Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen or Russell Brand, all actors who have confessed and/or boasted about being addicted to sex.
With any of these in the leading role of Brandon, the film would have ended as either a vacuous, moralising drama or a titillating American Pie style ‘comedy’. English director, Steve McQueen takes a more courageous course of treating the subject seriously without feeling the need to judge the characters or tag on a token feel good ending. This is a film for grown-ups.
In casting Michael Fassbender in the lead role he has an actor able to meet the challenge of baring all both literally and metaphorically. The fact that so much has been made of his full frontal scenes supports McQueen’s view that there are still many taboos relating to the true representation of sex on-screen.
While the film is quite raunchy and explicit, it is still a long way from being hardcore and if you see it expecting to get turned on you are in for a disappointment. This is not a sexy movie but a film about sex made from a refreshingly adult perspective.
There’s an aspect of Brandon that any red-blooded male can relate to. Any man who says he has never seen or used pornography is either lying or making the improbable admission that he has no interest in sex. Consuming porn is a lot like scratching a raw wound, you know you shouldn’t do it but sometimes the temptation is just too great to resist. The ready availability of hardcore images and videos on the internet means that this can be done casually and anonymously. There is no longer the stigma or embarrassment of having to go into a store and purchase a girlie mag or rent a ‘dirty movie’.
Brandon’s behaviour departs from the norm because it crosses into the field of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He is unwilling and unable to control his cravings. This takes his needs beyond the basic desire for pleasure and sexual release but into the realm of self harm. He is an orgasm addict who masturbates constantly, downloads hardcore porn at home and at work and uses prostitutes regularly.
The immediate gratification is temporarily satisfying but never truly pleasurable and is quickly followed by feelings of shame. At one point he bins his laptop along with his huge stack of porn magazines and movies but it is plain that he won’t kick the habit so easily.
He may have a successful job and a smart New York apartment but he is more like his sister than he would like to admit. Both siblings are damaged goods; the main difference is that she is less skilled in hiding the fact. One of the best scenes is where Brandon tells her that she cannot stay at his place even though he knows she has no alternative. This is where Fassbender is at his best, bringing a ferocity to the part that never seems forced.
Carey Mulligan is also impressive as his fucked-up sister Sissy who dreams of being a successful singer. Her slowed down rendition of New York, New York in a nightclub strips this standard of all its swagger and optimism to become a statement of tortured longing on a par with The Smiths’ Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.
Brandon is hateful towards her but this is born of a sibling rivalry that obviously has a history. Otherwise, he does not directly abuse women so it is hard to argue that he is a classic misogynist. If anything his hatred is turned inwards rather than directed at women.
Those he has sex with are either willing to be used as one night stands or doing it for cash. There’s even a scene of him getting a blowjob at a gay club. One could argue that sex without love is an empty experience but, as Woody Allen once quipped, “as far as empty experiences go, it’s one of the best”. This is one reason why Brandon maintains his compulsion which enables him to get perverted pleasure from his inner pain. At the same time it enables him to maintain a control that cannot be guaranteed in a ‘normal’ relationship. When he’s dating a young work colleague he is nervous and looks ill at ease. In bed together he fails to get an erection because he can perform sex with a stranger but can’t make love with someone he knows and likes.
Fassbender is such a hunk that I’m sure many women would willingly queue up to try and cure him. I also think many men would see nothing wrong in his insatiable quest for sex without emotion and commitment. These facts alone mean that the movie reaches the parts mainstream cinema cannot reach.
And those who have the most cause to be ashamed of themselves are the Oscars Academy for completely snubbing this movie and failing to recognise its importance.
