Over the last few years or so, it seems that the meaning of taboo has gotten lost. For the most part, we have become desensitised to extreme violence and sexual content. Hell, violence is becoming forever sexualised, with sex being occasionally and manipulatively violencised (I'm not the first person on the internet to ever use that word before). And religion? You can pretty much say or depict it in any way you please without hardly offending anyone, it seems. That infamous scene in 1971's 'Straw Dogs' has become entirely socially irrelevant. In fact, not only has it been all but forgotten about, it's been remade this past year to the sound of little controversy. Where a certain film's graphic scenes of torture once ignited conversation about how they made us squirm, we all now laugh at the many sequels that followed, praising the most creative ways in which a filmmaker can take a life. So what is left to shock us? What is left to challenge our principles and arouse what is left of our senses?
'Shame' is the second feature from maverick director and Turner Prize winner, Steve McQueen CBE. Like his debut film, 'Hunger', it stars current Hollywood golden boy Michael Fassbender, and in many ways his female counterpart, Carey Mulligan. Considering both of their ever rising statuses in the game, the roles undertaken by the pair are staggeringly brave.
Fassbender, in the midst of another stellar year, continues to shine in the role of Brandon. Brandon is 30-something, moderately successful in the NYC office game, with a cool white, modern apartment in Manhattan. Externally, he is a catch (Bateman, anyone?). People want to know him, and people want to be around him. Women, namely. Is this because he is able to offer them something more than they are accustomed to? The answer is yes, simply, in the short term. Playing off the failures of his sleaze bag, family man boss's tequila fuelled attempts to lure pant-suited blondes back to his penthouse, Brandon is able to charm (the pants off) the same blondes by simply identifying the colour of their eyes (a first hurdle at which his boss David (24's James Badge Dale) falls flat on his face) before proceeding to literally eyef**k the s**t out of them from across the room. David is in awe. How?
By all accounts, Brandon is a master of seduction. To a point, this is true. He knows how to get what he wants, which in most cases involves convincing his prey that it's what they want as well. I use the word 'prey' for a reason. While Brandon doesn't necessarily victimise his sexual conquests, they certainly fall victim to his obsessive influence whether they realise it or not. This is where the torture of sexual addiction becomes a more complicated affliction than say, alcohol or drug dependency. The latter are harder to keep a secret as they outwardly affect the people around you. Family and friends are able to easily identify the noticeable changes in appearance and behaviour, and the addiction is able to be confronted head on. As mesmerisingly addressed in 'Shame', sexual addiction is a wholly inner struggle that can only be reckoned with upon exposure.
Cue Sissy, Brandon's equally but indifferently troubled younger sister uncharacteristically but unbelievably well portrayed by Carey Mulligan. Until her reintroduction into his life, Brandon has been able to comfortably satisfy his urges without consequence. There has been a substantial lack of guilt, and a definite lack of shame up to this point, it seems, as Brandon has isolated himself into a world without intimacy, dominated by pornography, prostitution and one-night stands. He continually ignores her attempts to contact him, culminating in a desperate answer phone message in which is she attempts to get a rise out of him by claiming she has a week to live. That being what it is, a grotesque use of falsified disease in order to hear his voice, what choice did he really leave her with? As we come to learn, she is a sufferer of her own afflictions, namely depression, and is desperate for the intimacy that Brandon could not care less for. Before he knows it, she has moved in and onto his couch via a strangely comfortable welcome that is passed over in the most uncomfortable of fashions courtesy of a Steve McQueen trademark single take, single shot scene in Brandon's bathroom.
It is upon Sissy's arrival in Brandon's life that we are able to see his addiction for what it is; an emotional numbing of the heart driven by denial, hypocrisy and selfishness. As if he had spent all of his available energy on feeding his addiction and keeping it a secret, his forced awareness of Sissy's own struggles and shortcomings moves him to, for the first time, show cracks in himself. For starters, he overlooks his use of pornography at work, only for his buddy-boss to end up ignorantly blaming an intern and getting him off the hook. Where he once selected partners based on sexual attraction, he begins to inadvertently entertain himself with the idea of genuine affection. The result being, the inability to perform, and having sex with a loveless prostitute just to get the taste out of his mouth.
This slow transformation is presented stunningly by McQueen in a series of visually arresting sequences that can last for minutes at a time without a single cut or line of dialogue. He invites you to understand Brandon's world without ever being forced to feel uncomfortable within yourself. What you see is certainly graphic and over extended periods of time, but it is all integral to the characters and their progression through the story. McQueen's cinematic techniques strive to create a realistic sense of discomfort for the characters, not the viewer. Without these scenes of destructive realism, the theme of sexual addiction would become completely redundant, and the film itself, pointless.
It is not simply Sissy's presence that plays on Brandon's consistency though. Sure, without her on his couch he would never be caught masturbating by anyone, nor would his online sex chats ever be discovered. These are all elements of his continual exposure that he is able to deal with through a variety of outlets and resolutions. If anything, it does him good. What Brandon is unable to cope with is another person's dependancy on his company and support. Sissy's insecurity and acute depression has eventually led her back to him, her apparently only available lifeline. From the sounds of things, their parents are either dead or entirely estranged, though it is never mentioned. All we know, is that the tormented pair come from 'a bad place'.
If we are to imagine that Brandon's own personal battles mean that his head is only slightly above the water, the addition of Sissy's need to be recognised as important to someone else's existence is the heavily weighted sinker that proceeds to drown him. While he will never admit it to himself, he struggles so hard to be responsible for himself that being remotely responsible for someone else's emotional health, even a family members, is completely out of the question. His addiction drives him to be outwardly angry with Sissy in such an unconscious way that through his attempts to debase her, he in turn is able to further deny himself. In this new found proximity, he finds further cause to defer concern away from himself by way of embellishing the struggles of his sister. When she begins to question him, his immediate defence is to hypocritically force her to question herself. In the end, this continued act of blind selfishness proves to be more of a reckoning than Brandon could have ever imagined.
In a year full of overwhelming performances, none are as bold or as raw than that of Fassbender and Mulligan. Fassbender is all but assured an Oscar nomination for his pained performance, and judging by the current five frontrunners, I would say with confidence that this is the standout male performance of the year, on a level par with Tilda Swinton in 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'. He encapsulates Brandon with such beautiful honesty that it's hard to imagine the likes of Pitt or Clooney topping him. Unfortunately for Fassbender's film, it is up against the much more academy-friendly 'Moneyball' and 'The Descendants'. Two films that are no less impressive, but staggeringly less controversial. Whether he can achieve what he deserves all depends on the balls of the voters. Being recognised by the Hollywood Foreign Press is a start; a controversial nomination by all accounts, no doubt in response to Fassbender's unrelenting success with the critics' associations. My allegiances now lie with him though, and I will be crossing my fingers from now until February 26th.
Carey Mulligan's turn as Sissy is simply another level of outstanding. I suppose what's most impressive is the fact that it is completely outside of the comfort zone that she has established for herself over the last three years. 'Drive' was somewhat of a departure in terms of the type of film she was featuring herself in, but the role selection was typical as far as what we've come to expect of her. Sissy is a fragile, distressful character, and in her first stab at the psychologically gritty, she absolutely nailed it. Flexing her expressive dramatic muscles for the first time, she latches onto Fassbender from the first second she appears on screen, not loosening her grasp on his psyche for the remainder of the film. Little screen time as she may have, it is more than enough time to affect the story in the most incredible way of any supporting character in film this year (2011).
Looking at the list of Supporting Actress hopefuls, I would fully expect to hear Mulligan's name announced on January 24th. As someone who has witnessed a great deal of impressive performances throughout the past year, I would hope that she will surprise the masses and take home her first of prospectively many Academy Awards when the winners are announced next month. Again though, it comes down to the film itself, and whether the Academy can bear to bestow greatness on a film as aggressively honest as 'Shame'. It's a funny old game, the Oscars, with undeserving winners walking away with gold year after year. I find that part of the fun though. When your deserving underdogs come through and upset the masses, it's a fist pumping moment for any serious film lover.
'Shame' is certainly not for everyone, it's true. Some will argue that it's not for anyone. What it absolutely and unequivocally is however, is an astonishing piece of visceral storytelling from a truly gifted artist brought to life by the two best dramatic performances of the year. On that merit, it is well worth your time even if you'd rather not experience it in a crowded auditorium on a first date.
