Shame

My, what a road we have travelled. It wasn’t that long ago that a film like Shame would have had Catholic Ireland up in arms prompting the censor to go and make a show of us all by banning it. This is nowhere near the most explicit film that has graced an Irish cinema screen (that honour must surely go to the super-graphic but woeful 9 Songs) but it is probably the most provocative.

Michael Fassbender plays Brandon, a sex addict who hurtles from one risky encounter to another and who resorts to sexual release (whether brought about by the one he loves or another person) when he finds himself in a stressful situation. Through chance encounters, the use of prostitutes and a healthy grasp of where to go on the internet, Brandon maintains rigid control over his life. Then his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) comes to stay and his tightly wound world begins to unravel bit by bit. She can see that her brother is in trouble and tries to pull him back from the brink but Sissy has her own demons to confront.

This is an audacious piece of film-making from director Steve McQueen, working off a script by flavour-of-the-month Abi Morgan. I am not quite sure if it rings entirely true, however. There is an ambiguity to the story that is both admirable and clever but also incredibly frustrating. Brandon’s troubles feel authentic but the vagueness of Sissy’s torments makes it difficult to empathise even though she is by far the more likeable of the two. There is an inappropriateness to their relationship that goes unexplained (this is evident right from the start) but which hints heavily at incest and asks a little too much of the audience.

It is the central performances that really make Shame. There’s no doubting the courageousness of Fassbender and Mulligan, both of whom quite literally lay themselves bare. Fassbender in particular goes to places that not many actors on the cusp of hovering around the bottom of the A-List would dare to tread. (For those of you who are affronted by the idea of an Irish man being involved in a film as frank as Shame it may help you to remember that he’s part German too.) It is an extraordinarily intense, committed performance that is almost excruciating to watch at times. Mulligan also brings a lot to the table by perfectly complementing Fassbender – his pent up aggression matches her weariness – and her version of New York, New York is very moving.

Not one for the first date, or even the tenth, Shame is a brutally uncompromising film that, admittedly, won’t be to everyone’s liking but will certainly challenge your perceptions.

Stars: ***