Shame; a tale of sexual addiction

Shame
Directed by Steve McQueen
Starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan
In cinemas from February 23

“Shame” will probably be a controversial film as it teeters between pornography and the examination of the sexual life of an ordinary sexually-focused man.

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a thirty-something corporate living comfortably in his New York apartment. He manages to fill his time at the office, at home and out on the town, seducing women watching pornography, randomly masturbating. He has a string of one-night stands and his past is littered with failed romances..

The tightly controlled rhythm of Brandon’s life begins to collapse, however, when his wayward, unruly sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) arrives for an unannounced visit. Her disruptive presence in his life propels Brandon further into New York’s dark underbelly as he tries to escape her need for connection and the memories she stands for.

The surface of his world; the office his apartment the bars and nightclubs, even Brandon himself are attractive and sleek. His graphic sexual performances are mixture of the sophisticated and the pornographic.

But underlying this is a life which has no fixed centre apart from the pursuit of sexual gratification. One doesn’t really have sympathy for Brandon and he becomes a metaphor for the barrenness of contemporary life.

Sissy like Brandon, (except he doesn’t acknowledge it), is in pursuit of some sort of stability, commitment and connection. It’s only when Sissy ends her life that Brandon understands.

He is also ambivalent about personal morality. He is appalled when his sister gets into a relationship with his boss (committing the ultimate sin of using Brandon’s bedroom) but has no qualms about asking his staff for sex.

Fassbender gives a potent performance in which emotions are tightly controlled, occasionally erupting in electrifying encounters. Carey Mulligan displays the intensity and sensuality which Brandon keeps in check, along with a subtle psychological insight.

Shame is a troubling examination of the nature of gratification, the self imposed dilemma of how we deal with obsessions and addictions and how the pursuit of extreme experiences can dominate and cripple us.