The film’s subject matter and 18 age restriction is warranted as Shame serves up literal in-your-face sexuality. Just like McQueen, Michael Fassbender is another rising star with sharp performances most recently in X-Men: First Class and Jane Eyre. Fassbender continues this string of solid performances opposite Carey Mulligan with an adept toxic portrayal of a man, whose private life and painful past clash when his sister moves into his New York apartment.

Brandon’s (Fassbender) life is turned upside down when Sissy (Mulligan) moves in with him to find work as a singer. Most people’s regrets are often of a sexual nature and this forms the complex bond between brother and sister in Shame. Their relationship is examined and forms the catalyst for Brandon’s downward spiral… taking his inability to find intimacy and his sexual addictions into darker, more self-destructive terrain.

“I’ve drawn regret from the truth of a thousand lies…”

Shame is difficult to watch… in many ways comparable with American Psycho. The sexual content is overtly graphic with full frontal nudity and several intense sex scenes. Fassbender’s commitment to character is impeccable as the man is transported from one hollow sexual experience to another… never quite reaching fulfillment on a cyclic quest to distract, distance and detonate his insatiable urges, needs and desires.

This is a story that will resonate with many men in a society that lures and subsequently chastises, yet one that is seldom told on film. McQueen channels an ever-widening hollowness as Brandon’s deep yearning to satisfy his vapid sexual desires spirals out of control. Fassbender’s performance captures the essence of this and McQueen powers it home with awkward conversations, broken mirror moments and glimmers of real soulful pain.

A complex character portrait, a strong lead performance from Fassbender, sleek artistic cinematography, a spontaneous feel to the dialogue and McQueen’s ability to transfer empathy and a hollow gratification to his audience makes Shame a must-see… a powerful, yet bleak life of shame.

The bottom line: Powerful

Release Date: 11 May, 2012

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Image quote derived from Linkin Park – “What I’ve Done” lyrics.