Sunday, February 5, 2012

Shame

While I skipped the week before, this past week I did make good on my weekly movie night. On schedule last Tuesday was Shame, directed by Steve McQueen (not the action star), and starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.


Michael Fassbender stars as Brandon Sullivan, a New York professional with a severe sex addiction. He hires prostitutes, picks up random women at bars and masturbates in the bathroom at work; both his work and personal computers are loaded with pornography. Despite all this, he leads a very controlled life, necessary to hide his addiction from those around him. The order of his life is disrupted when his equally unstable younger sister, Sissy (Mulligan), drops in unannounced to stay with him. Suffering from attachment issues with men (including Brandon's own boss) and severely depressed, she throws her brother's world into a tailspin.



Before the nominations came out January 24, this movie was getting a lot of Oscar buzz, especially for Fassbender and Mulligan. The movie certainly got a lot of attention at other awards events, including the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. Despite some well-deserving performances, however, the movie was completely overlooked for an Academy Award; a true snub, indeed. Both main actors are among my favorites and have made great names for themselves despite relatively short careers, and this was definitely a movie that really showcased both of their talents. It's hard to say exactly why this movie was overlooked (perhaps the NC-17 rating?), but it is a great watch, nonetheless...provided you are over the age of 17, of course.

Mini soundtrack:

Blondie - "Rapture"

Carey Mulligan - "New York, New York"

Chic - "I Want Your Love"

No comments:

Post a Comment