I can see how potentially audience viewers might be distracted by the nudity and graphic of this film. I can also see how audience viewers could focus on the pace of the film being that it is sometimes slow with the long stills and doesn't have a dialog that adds pulse to the film. What makes 'Shame' such a success though is the raw acting talent showcased by Carey Mulligan & Michael Fassbender. The film, for lack of better explanation, almost entirely unfolds through their facial expressions. In the film Brandon, Fassbender's character, says "Actions matter not words" and that couldn't be more true for this film. What this film does have in dialog it certainly makes up for in superb acting performances.
As an audience viewer you are left watching two very distinct characters heavily embedded in their struggles, very different from one another. As you come understand their inability to break free from the vices that bind them, McQueen is able to add a cathartic tone to this film through the development of his characters.
Brandon (Fassbender) is such a prisoner of his addiction that he is prevented from being able to be anything else but an addict. He can't be someone's boyfriend and he can't even be the brother that his sister desperately needs. Anything requiring Brandon to step away from his carnal desire proves to be too much for him. Watching Fassbender as he emotes this on screen, constantly searching to quench his thirst, like any good addict does, is remarkable. He maintains our attention all the while appearing void and omnipresent in himself. In the end of the film when Brandon is confronted with a life & death situation you want to believe that this been the "kick" he has needed to come to grips with reality, causing him to reform his ways. However, in true McQueen fashion he simply cannot let his protagonist off that easy. Old habits die hard.
As an audience viewer you are left watching two very distinct characters heavily embedded in their struggles, very different from one another. As you come understand their inability to break free from the vices that bind them, McQueen is able to add a cathartic tone to this film through the development of his characters.
Brandon (Fassbender) is such a prisoner of his addiction that he is prevented from being able to be anything else but an addict. He can't be someone's boyfriend and he can't even be the brother that his sister desperately needs. Anything requiring Brandon to step away from his carnal desire proves to be too much for him. Watching Fassbender as he emotes this on screen, constantly searching to quench his thirst, like any good addict does, is remarkable. He maintains our attention all the while appearing void and omnipresent in himself. In the end of the film when Brandon is confronted with a life & death situation you want to believe that this been the "kick" he has needed to come to grips with reality, causing him to reform his ways. However, in true McQueen fashion he simply cannot let his protagonist off that easy. Old habits die hard.