Inside Pulse - Having watched director Steve McQueen’s first film Hunger earlier this week and then also knowing that I was diving headlong into his exploration of modern day sex addiction I was expecting something nasty, disgusting and all together unsexy. After all the last time we gave him 100 minutes to show us his worldview he left us alone in a feces-encrusted room to watch a man starve to death. So when I left the theatre after Shame I felt, shockingly, unscathed though totally satisfied. McQueen may not have grossed me out but his creative flourishes were stunning and his technical skills were much improved from his last go round. But more importantly he lets us inside the closed off world of one very damaged soul who relies on sex a bit more than he should but who also has a whole host of other problems on top of that.
"We are currently in an odd film awards season where three of the biggest powerhouse talents of the year (any of which would have deserved a win in their category) didn’t even garner a measly nomination. We’re talking, of course, about Ben Affleck for Best Director, Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Supporting Actor, Quentin Tarantino for Best Director. And that’s not even mentioning the absences of Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper and freak’n Christopher Nolan. Why??? We shout to the heavens in vain. How in the world does the director of “Beasts of the Southern Wild” nab a nomination instead? What were the voters snorting when they ignored Leonardo DiCaprio (AGAIN, no less!) for what should have been as much of a slam dunk win as Anne Hathaway’s for Best Supporting Actress? Especially considering this is DiCaprio’s best “performance” to date?? This wasn’t that hard, Academy. This wasn’t as stellar of a year as, say, 1939 or 2004. No, this should have been pretty simple.
This year offers ple...
Jeremy of We Got This Covered wrote, "Michael Fassbender stars in Steve McQueen‘s NC-17 rated drama Shame, a story about a man and his addiction to sex. It’s not the easiest film to sit through, but it’s definitely worth it in the end. Shame is Michael Fassbender‘s most enduring performance yet and he couldn’t have done it without Steve McQueen‘s raw and revealing directing. Shame is relentless and cold, but it’s a commanding film that shows you that not everyone wants to see a mindless action flick; some people are willing to emotionally invest themselves into flawed, but real characters, with dark pasts and not so bright futures."
Sticky Trigger Entertainment writes; "All in all, I am finding it very hard to fault Shame. The performances all round are nigh on perfect, particularly for the unforgettable Carey Mulligan who could have benefited from a little longer on screen. But the film seems to excel in every department, from the unspoken depth of the characters to the stunning direction and performances. Shame is a celebration of everything right in drama."
