Shame (2011)
Directed by Steve McQueen
Starring:
Michael Fassbender
Carey Mulligan
James Badge Dale
Nicole Beharie
Running time: 101 Minutes
Plot Synopsis:
Michael Fassbender is a sex addict and isn’t shy about walking around fully nude.
My Opinion:
Seriously – I’ll make this a quickie (Ha!). Because, obviously, I’m not mature enough to do a proper review for this. But I have at least decided to not grab a thesaurus and use the word “large” in as many ways as possible throughout the review.
Michael Fassbender plays a sex addict. So it’s already a movie I can’t relate to in the slightest (TMI?). He struggles with this & it’s very serious & it’s ruining his life and OH MY GOD he’s walking around FULLY NAKED! And I totally didn’t rewind that & freeze frame it & actually take a picture of the TV screen. Who would do that? That would be immature.
Then Fassbender’s equally messed-up-in-the-head sister Carey Mulligan comes to stay with him unexpectedly (and totally uninvited). And OH MY GOD we see her fully naked too!!!!
Seriously, though, Fassbender’s acting in this is very very good. I hate to say that I was slightly disappointed with Carey Mulligan, though. Oh I hate saying that as I do like her! But this is the second movie recently that I DIDN’T like her in (The Great Gatsby being the other one but I think that was mainly the fault of the script). She’s fine – she’s not bad in Shame but… I don’t know – Maybe she wasn’t quite right for the role. And I think she just couldn’t out-act Fassbender. They had a good creepy incestuous sexual tension thing going on that worked, though. I guess. Ew.
Summary:
Does Shame really explore sexual addiction & do we learn anything by the end of the film? No. Only that no addiction is ever a good thing. Oh, and that most of us are totally f*&ked up in some way but some are better at hiding it than others. So the movie only states the obvious and I suppose it was successful for A) a truly great performance from Fassbender and B) being a bit racy, which always gets attention. Heck, it turns into almost full-on porn there for a scene toward the end (I think. I’m not an expert on porn).
Is it good? Well, yeah. It’s a bit artsy, it’s filmed well (not that I know anything about filmmaking but it all looked very good), and it has some great acting including a very memorable performance from Fassbender. Did it change my life? No. Did it ruin my life? No. Am I glad I watched it? Yes. And I have a picture saved on my phone of my favorite part.
My Rating: 7.5/10
Cinema Parrot Disco 
Great review – snappy but informative! Keep it up. 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
LOL. Your review was hilarious. MF naked. HHhmm. 😉
Thanks. 🙂 Wasn’t in the right mood for a serious review! It really is a worthy film, though, that I’d recommend to anyone who isn’t too easily offended. (And, yes – MF is very naked in it!)
You say that like it was a bad thing 😉
No. No, it’s not a bad thing… Lol. 😉
😀 Great review, perfect for the holiday mood. Although I gotta admit that the film was quite distressing to me. It really portrait addiction so well. Even though it was about sex and hoooot Fassbender, it felt so cold and desperate. I don’t think I’ll watch it again. And I liked Mulligan but you’re right. She’s overshadowed by Fassbender.
Thanks. 🙂 Do agree it’s a very good film. And, yes – very cold. Very depressing. Certainly not one to watch over & over again! But Fassbender is great in it.
I don’t know any films he is not great. 🙂
and he sure likes to get naked:
He certainly does! 😉
I’ve just reviewed Pitch Perfect as well – think you’d mentioned that one?
A picture of your favourite part? Now there’s a play on words if ever I’ve heard one 🙂
I love this film, love the way it’s filmed and the acting is fantastic. Although it does it does bring up some inadequacy issues for some reason 🙂
Ha! Yeah… I know, I’m pretty subtle. Lol 😉
It’s a very good film. Just not entirely sure what it’s trying to say other than “look at these messed up people”. Fassbender really is brilliant in it, though. Seriously. He has a huge talent.
I think Mulligan is cute but even the chance of her getting nekkid doesn’t thrill me enough to risk seeing Fassbender’s peep for two hours. Did you really take a pic of that for your phone? Dirty Parrot!
Filth!
: )
Of course not! I wouldn’t do such a thing. I’m no perv! : -p
Well, he doesn’t walk around with it hanging out the entire time – it’s just one scene. One long, long (long) scene.
SMUT!!!!!
Speaking of smut, I’ve not checked out your OTHER blog in a while. 😉 Anything new popped up??
Nope – nothing new out there : )
Should I put this filth out there??
Well, it may be a bit too much of a “quality” film for that. Lol. You should do it! You should review a “worthy” dirty movie! Or maybe wait for Nymphomaniac?
Lol!!
OH MY!!!
Wait. You didn’t take that picture, remember? So how is saved on your phone? 🙂
And good review. I haven’t seen the film yet, so I can’t substantively comment.
Oh. Yeah. I meant to say *don’t*. I DON’T have a picture. Typo there. ; )
Thanks – it IS a brilliantly acted film. I’m just not sure it’s as deep as it thinks it is…
This movie made me feel less self-conscious about how frequent I masturbate, but it definitely made me feel more self-conscious about something else…considering the horse-length of Fassbender’s privates.
Good to, um, know? Lol! 🙂
It was a joke lol. I’m not that comfortable on the internet…
Fassbender was so amazing here, it makes me so upset everytime I think about the fact that he didn’t get nominated for this. I mean honestly, he was the best, if not, the most memorable performance of 2011! Good review.
Thanks. 🙂 Agree – he should have been nominated for sure. Didn’t realize he hadn’t been – I assumed he was. He must have been nominated for ceremonies other than the Oscars – I know he did get noticed for this role at least.
I love this film. I don’t think it’s really about sex addiction, though. Like, it’s part of the film but its more of an examination of how damaged people can pull each other down. Plus, aside from some great acting from Fassbender (and Mulligan, who unlike you I though held her own very well), it’s also got some fantastic direction from McQueen! Nice review
Thanks. 🙂 It IS a very good film and Fassbender is truly great in it. I was just a little, um… Distracted by his performance. 😉 Mulligan is good as well and they worked well together. A good study of how our past can affect us too, I think (which is ever so barely hinted at in this – think maybe just in one line either Fassbender or Mulligan said about their childhood – can’t remember exactly). It’s just always hard to watch movies where you’re watching people on such a downward spiral, I guess.
I’ve never seen Shame, but I’ve always been intrigued by the concept. Now that I know Fassbender definitely walks around naked in it, it’s going to be the next film I watch. Merry Christmas to me!
Lol! Oh yes – he walks around VERY naked in it. 😉 But, aside from that, it is a good film so I’d recommend it anyway. The nudity is just a plus. 🙂
Love this review so much! Pretty much exactly my own level of maturity while watching it. Lol! PENIS!!
Lol! Glad it wasn’t just me being totally immature while watching this. I felt like Beavis & Butthead. 😉
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This is gold! I’ve had this on my DVR for ages but can’t seem to make myself watch it, and I’m not sure if this makes it any more appealing. Fassbender-junk notwithstanding, of course.
Watch it just for the junk. Trust me. It’s pretty early on in the movie! Just fast forward. 😉
#fassbenderjunk
It’s a lovely thing. Better than #fakevaginas 🙂
There’s definitely a curiosity there, but there’s also a lot to be said for maintaining the mystery!
Google it. 😉
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