Film #20 - Shame (2012)

Shame, the first great film of 2012. There, just thought I should get that out the way first so we knew what we were dealing with here. Shame is powerful, Shame is gripping and Shame is just damn brilliant. You can without a doubt focus the brilliance of this film on it's two lead's incredible performances. Both Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan have fast become reliably consistent in the film industry for performances that can only be described as showstealing, so having these two talents sharing the show together for once was more than a treat. What was truly incredible was that throughout the film, never once did you feel like the two talents had to compete with each other for screen supremacy but more that they were performing in harmony. Their equally tragic portrayal's of brother and sister complimented each other perfectly, highlighting each other's true talents and constantly pushing each other's characters that one inch closer to the brink.

Steve McQueen has also done a truly remarkable job as far as direction goes, with a scene of Fassbender's character jogging through nighttime New York as the camera follows him down each street showing both beautiful camera work and just how beautiful a city New York is. Admittedly I have not seen McQueen and Fassbender's previous work together (Hunger, 2008) but I can promise you that this film has bound me into searching that down more than any trailer ever could, and should surely have the same effect on you.

Admittedly, this film will not be for everyone and if you can't manage sex scenes in your films then this is a straight off no for you. However, if you can get past the fact that the taboo of talking about or covering sex in the media is nothing more than outdated tradition, then what you'll find is not just one of the most mature explorations of sex that cinema has had to offer in a while but also a film that beautifully portrays the very human flaw of addiction and a moving tale of a brother and sister almost at unintentional war with each other as their broken lives collide. One of my personal favourites of the 2011-12 awards season, if you can handle the fact that some people have sex sometimes then you simply owe this film 100 minutes of your time. I'm sure you won't regret it.

9/10