Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

charlesjpfox Having watched this film a few times now; it continues to impress both with the outstanding acting of the two lead characters; and the brilliant direction.Addiction; and how its causes lay somewhere in our pasts; and the Conradian wail of The Horror The Horror. We are not bad people ; we just come from a bad place. Even redemption or self realization is only fleeting.

Asif Khan (asifahsankhan) Steve McQueen's Shame is about a man who is compulsively addicted to sexual pleasure. Like any other kind of addict, his cravings continue to push limits and take control of his life. He takes new sexual partners (sometimes paying for it) with stunning regularity. He is also a, well he frequently masturbates, sometimes unable to hold off while at work. His boss informs him that the IT department came across a trove of pornography on his computer's hard drive, but assumes it must have been an intern.The sex is not treated as prurient, erotic or, as the title would suggest, shameful. For Brandon Sullivan it is a fact of his life and one that imprisons him in his own sense of shame. But he's not creepy. In all aspects he is a normal working man. Except that he's also got the movie star good looks of Michael Fassbender with his hard jaw line, piercing eyes and just a hint of an Irish lilt when he speaks. It's the eyes and body language that exudes a take-charge attitude that allows him to seduce a young married woman on the subway by doing nothing more than staring at her and allowing the slightest hint of a smile.Mulligan and Fassbender give unbridled performances, not just because they lay bare their bodies for McQueen and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, whose lighting makes no attempt to conceal or obfuscate their physical presence, just as the screenplay, co- written by McQueen and Abi Morgan insists on being candid when it comes to the sheer duress Brandon and Sissy live under. They are broken individuals, scarred it would seem by a past that is never revealed. But Shame is not about how the past affects them, it's about the here and now, how each is a prisoner of personal demons and both have difficulty connecting emotionally with someone long term.Whereas Brandon mostly internalises the wreckage of his life, Sissy is more outwardly an emotional disaster. Trying to make it as a lounge singer, she invites Brandon and David to a gig at a swanky bar where she performs a mournful rendition of "New York, New York." "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere," she sings, reminding us that New York City is the toughest of towns, maybe too harsh at times for someone like Sissy. She is also quick to jump into bed with strangers, but when she does so with David, we see the first signs of Brandon's near inability to control his rage, an emotion that for him is inextricably wound with feelings of lust.Every protagonist needs to have an arc, should go through some kind of change and come out the other end of a story knowing more than he did at the start. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what change takes place in Brandon except that his sexual proclivities become more and more dangerous. His redemption is subtle, but comes in a moment when he stops being self-absorbed for a moment to understand the full ramifications of a voicemail Sissy leaves for him saying, "It's not that we're bad people, we just come from a bad place." The closing scene of the film is suggestive, though not explicit, of a change in Brandon, when he has another silent encounter with the same woman on the subway. When we see her wedding ring again, we recall his admonition of Sissy for not just going to bed with a married man, but continuing to call him after. It's an enigmatic ending, not unlike Brandon as a character, that McQueen wisely leaves to the imagination what he's going to choose.

sol- Not the Ingmar Bergman classic of the same title, this contemporary British drama follows a young man who begins to reevaluate his obsession with sex and pornography when his sister moves in and begins to date his even more sexually depraved boss. In a performance consisting more of glances and stares than real dialogue, Michael Fassbender does well in the lead role as he wrestles with his conflicted emotions regarding his new home life. The title is especially interesting to consider along these regards; is the presence of his sister (and the knowledge of what his boss is doing with her) the very first thing in his life that has ever caused him to feel ashamed of his sexually active lifestyle? Intriguing as all this is, the film never tackles such ideas in much depth, not really exploring whether or not one should be ashamed of one's sexuality and/or the role of societal expectations in how open one is with one's sexuality. Much visible tension between Fassbender and Carey Mulligan (as his sister) sadly goes unexplored too with only the slightest hints of abusive childhoods and a possible incestuous past between them. And yet, with Fassbender in such good form with his longing stares (especially on the train near the end) conveying so much, this is an easy film to appreciate for the bits and pieces that do work. Harry Escott's moody music score is a particularly commendable touch.

benbarnes0606 Steve McQeen is one of the best film makers working today and this in my opinion is his best work although i have not yet seen Hunger, I have however seen 12 Years A Slave, the 3rd McQueen/Fassbender collaboration.Shame follows Brendan (Fassbender) a middle aged man who suffers from an extreme case of sex addiction. And that is all i'm gonna say about about the plot of the film because that's all I knew going in and that's all you should know going in.Because this film is one of the best films of all time, every shot has a purpose, every mannerism has a purpose and that's what I love about Steve McQueen, his movies aren't just a revenue stream for him their clearly his passion. McQueen had previously been an artist and it fundamentally shows in this movie, this film isn't just a piece of entertainment to pass the time on a rainy Sunday afternoon, but an experience, that's right this is an experience. This movie isn't for everyone though, if you don't like sexual themes or scenes in your films then this maybe one to steer clear from, let me just say it earns its 18+ rating.But for everyone else this is one to look out for. Do not let this one pass you by i'm telling you this is a piece of art en-captured in film.I could go on and on about this film but to sum it all up, best performance Michael Fassbender has ever delivered by far, (but since its NC-17 he got snubbed for best actor of course). Masterful directing by visionary Steve McQueen and excellent score by Harry Escott.Don't let the content of the film turn you off, this is every bit as artful as 2001 a space odyssey, they just express it differently.