Shame
Director: Steve McQueen
Year Released: 2011
Rating: 1.5
A working professional (Michael Fassbender) not only can't control his pronounced and incessant sexual urges (he's like a high school boy ... except with money and game) but he also can't control his horrendously damaged sister (Carey Mulligan) ... or prevent her from singing. Fassbender is so searing and intense - and McQueen's visual sense so pronounced - it might be easy for some to view this as a powerful look at addiction, but dig slightly deeper and it's actually vacuous (it eschews particulars and hints at - what a shocker - a bad childhood) and homophobic - as a part of Fassbender's "downfall" is his willingness to wander through a gay club and get a blowjob (just after intentionally getting beaten up and right before Sis slits her wrists). Though most sensible people can probably agree that wanton casual sex - to stave off intimacy and engage in pure hedonism - is most likely not the healthiest lifestyle choice, the finger-wagging is a tad much.
