SHAME

It's definitely not often that I feel compelled to write two posts in one day but I've literally just come back from watching Steve McQueen's SHAME at the Filmhouse here in Edinburgh. I'm always up for a trip to the cinema but this wasn't my choice (and I probably won't be seeing it again). When a friend asks me if I'm interested in seeing such-and-such-a film and I've never heard of it before, I will often say yes simply for the pleasure of watching something with a blank slate.

Overall, I would say that, yes, this is a "good" film but I was left feeling quite... odd. I don't have a problem with sex scenes and I understand that the protagonist, Brandon (Michael Fassbender), has an addiction to sex (and how else can a film portray such an addiction if not through multiple sex scenes, masturbation, porn and prostitutes?). I guess I just got a bit bored. Add to that the distinct lack of dialogue. Again, I understand that he's been left damaged in some way by some un-mentioned horror from his childhood, but again, I have the attention span of a fish so a big screen with not much happening means I get a bit fidgety.

What I did appreciate, though, was the character of Sissy (Carey Mulligan), Brandon's sister who has also been left damaged from the same un-mentioned horror. Yet, while Brandon is an attention seeker in the form of physical and sexual attention, Sissy is desperate for companionship which she doesn't get from Brandon as he insists on trying to push her away. And the ending was pretty much perfect as far as I'm concerned.

Basic gist, I do recommend this film if you like your arty, independent films with long gaps in dialogue and plot for some graphic shots of nakedness or running or sitting on the subway... I just get bored way too quickly.