ShameLove and loneliness do not go hand in hand; rather, in the absence of real love, one may gravitate toward less savory substitutes. Sex can be a part of love, but it can also occur in the absence of it, filling a void but not for long. It is like a drug: you get a high, a rush of pleasure; but like a drug, it can become habit forming when the need for the thrill becomes stronger and stronger. Love can take many forms--not just romantic love, but familial love, the affection that comes from being close to your blood relations. All of these are a part of the struggle that Brandon (Michael Fassbender) experiences in Shame.
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Shame is a shockingly frank and explicit depiction of sex addiction; it is unquestionably for mature audiences only. This is not only because of graphic and numerous scenes of sex and nudity, but because the subject matter is a very real tribulation which Brandon endures which necessitates the context of adulthood. Too often, the topic of pornography and sex addiction has been either ignored or relegated to comedy, dismissing its significance as a crippling addiction which can undermine a person's ability to love another in devastating, almost imperceptible ways. Although Shame is uncompromising in its mature material, it is also not a movie as much about sex as it is about isolation. Brandon is a handsome, successful man in New York City, who generally has no problem getting laid, either with his convincing gentlemanly manner in cocktail bars with his fellow employees as wingmen, or when he chooses to pay for it. But his addiction is his secret life; his work computer is confiscated, overloaded with viruses from adult websites...an erotic webcam girl knows him by name, claiming she "knows what Brandon likes" as she fondles herself. Brandon's fortress of solitude is shaken when he comes home to find his sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), showering, listening to his LP collection a bit too loud, begging him for a place to crash between gigs as a lounge singer in an upscale high-rise nightclub. Although much of the music up until this point has been superficially about "love"--songs which wax orgasmic, like Blondie's "Rapture" and Chic's "I Want Your Love"--Sissy's performance of "New York, New York" resembles that notorious performance by Marilyn Monroe (you know the one), but has the heart and soul of a more tender, genuine performance, a pleading quality which is more loving than erotic, one which actually brings a tear to Brandon's eye. (Carey Mulligan is a terrific singer, and this scene leaves none in doubt.) But Sissy suffers from loneliness, like Brandon, and allows herself to be seduced by Brandon's aggressively flirtatious boss, David (James Badge Dale). When they all convene at Brandon's apartment--and Sissy tactlessly allows herself to be lured away into Brandon's bedroom by David for sex, Brandon flees and goes running out on the city streets. This is his way of letting off steam, but it is also a metaphor for his own anxiety and addiction; he is running from himself, and the problems he has with intimacy that he cannot face.
I believe that Brandon makes an earnest attempt to rid himself of his addiction--on multiple occasions--as a result of Sissy's presence, and the shame he feels at his compulsion. Sissy catches Brandon masturbating as she walks into the bathroom--mirroring his barging in on her in the shower--and discovers his webcam girl on his computer. Her response is to storm out, but the implication is that she is disgusted--not just at the explicit content, but at his hypocrisy for judging her in light of his own vices. Brandon throws away copious amounts of pornography; but like any addict quitting cold turkey, he unfortunately finds he is challenged to contain his urges in controllable ways. Brandon asks an attractive co-worker, Marianne (Nicole Beharie) out on a date, though he ends up late after being distracted watching another beautiful woman--who looks like Marianne--in an apartment window having sex. The scene in the restaurant is wonderfully authentic--complete with a borderline annoying waiter. This effort is important, because it is Brandon's attempt to try to have a real relationship, or at least convince himself he can go through the motions. It is in his conversations with Marianne that he comes clean about his perspectives on relationships--he hasn't had one which lasted more than four months. He tells Marianne, who is separated from her husband, that he doesn't see the point in marriage; he doesn't elaborate to any great extent, but she picks up on it that he is afraid of commitment. His attempt to forge a relationship with Marianne flounders because it is a kind of love he cannot control. For so long, Brandon's sexual stimulation comes from scenarios where he is in control of what turns him on and when. His pornography and the prostitutes he solicits are all forms of gratification which he does not need to invest himself into, not risking any emotional attachment. He has been unplugged from authentic love for so long, that when he finds himself involved with a woman who might just provoke that in him, his body doesn't know what to do. Psychologically, he is out of balance, his heart having been kept in stasis for too long. He knows--as we know--that Sissy awakens love within him again, evidenced by his refusal to acknowledge her when she confronts him that he should love her because they are family, a proclamation he coldly shirks away. But Brandon knows deep down that this feeling is still there, even if he has tried to pave over it with sex. When he returns from a night of sexual binging, an incident on the subway causes him to run home; he fears for Sissy, and we discover why. Both of these people are suffering from the shame and heartache buried deep within, something which is never fully explained, but remains a real threat to them both. Every person comes to a crossroads in their lives, forced to make a choice about who they will be; it is not enough to simply keep running past, because you get nowhere.
Recommended for: Fans of a deeply powerful--if explicit--drama about sexuality and addiction, but more about love and loneliness. It is a challenging film to watch with extremely vulnerable performances by Fassbender and Mulligan, but it reaches out to ask us to reserve judgment and try to understand the problem, just as Brandon is forced to do.
I believe that Brandon makes an earnest attempt to rid himself of his addiction--on multiple occasions--as a result of Sissy's presence, and the shame he feels at his compulsion. Sissy catches Brandon masturbating as she walks into the bathroom--mirroring his barging in on her in the shower--and discovers his webcam girl on his computer. Her response is to storm out, but the implication is that she is disgusted--not just at the explicit content, but at his hypocrisy for judging her in light of his own vices. Brandon throws away copious amounts of pornography; but like any addict quitting cold turkey, he unfortunately finds he is challenged to contain his urges in controllable ways. Brandon asks an attractive co-worker, Marianne (Nicole Beharie) out on a date, though he ends up late after being distracted watching another beautiful woman--who looks like Marianne--in an apartment window having sex. The scene in the restaurant is wonderfully authentic--complete with a borderline annoying waiter. This effort is important, because it is Brandon's attempt to try to have a real relationship, or at least convince himself he can go through the motions. It is in his conversations with Marianne that he comes clean about his perspectives on relationships--he hasn't had one which lasted more than four months. He tells Marianne, who is separated from her husband, that he doesn't see the point in marriage; he doesn't elaborate to any great extent, but she picks up on it that he is afraid of commitment. His attempt to forge a relationship with Marianne flounders because it is a kind of love he cannot control. For so long, Brandon's sexual stimulation comes from scenarios where he is in control of what turns him on and when. His pornography and the prostitutes he solicits are all forms of gratification which he does not need to invest himself into, not risking any emotional attachment. He has been unplugged from authentic love for so long, that when he finds himself involved with a woman who might just provoke that in him, his body doesn't know what to do. Psychologically, he is out of balance, his heart having been kept in stasis for too long. He knows--as we know--that Sissy awakens love within him again, evidenced by his refusal to acknowledge her when she confronts him that he should love her because they are family, a proclamation he coldly shirks away. But Brandon knows deep down that this feeling is still there, even if he has tried to pave over it with sex. When he returns from a night of sexual binging, an incident on the subway causes him to run home; he fears for Sissy, and we discover why. Both of these people are suffering from the shame and heartache buried deep within, something which is never fully explained, but remains a real threat to them both. Every person comes to a crossroads in their lives, forced to make a choice about who they will be; it is not enough to simply keep running past, because you get nowhere.
Recommended for: Fans of a deeply powerful--if explicit--drama about sexuality and addiction, but more about love and loneliness. It is a challenging film to watch with extremely vulnerable performances by Fassbender and Mulligan, but it reaches out to ask us to reserve judgment and try to understand the problem, just as Brandon is forced to do.