Shame Review: Inside the Mind of an Addict

Brandon has a secret. He’s addicted to sex.

Brandon has another secret. Sex doesn’t satisfy him.

Not in the least bit.

Hidden behind a layer of charismatic professionalism, Brandon’s life in Steve McQueen’s latest film, “Shame,” is a mess, but a self-contained one. That is until his sister comes back into his life and destroys any semblance of balance his existence once contained.

Sexy, disturbing, taut and experimental, Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of Brandon will automatically remind casual movie buffs of Christian Bale in “American Psycho.”

But putting that film in the same category as this one would be too novel.

Surreptitious and far from as straightforward in its debauchery, which ultimately consumes the film, “Shame” pushes the limit of acceptable sexuality in a film and succeeds in delivering a thought-provoking drama of a man lost.

However, the film’s biggest accomplishments come away from the softcore porn scenes and visuals of Fassbender in his birthday suit. Scenes where Brandon has no choice but to watch his sister Sissy [Carey Mulligan] make out with his dim-witted boss [James Badge Dale] and later where she invades his personal space and catches him masturbating, show us far more of the internal struggle this character faces than any of the sex scenes do.

The relationship between Brandon and his singer-sister Sissy, at times, feels pulled out of a Neil Simon production. Behind their sometimes easy-going chemistry, is a boiling tension that won’t go away. There’s no doubt there’s love present, as Brandon’s tears during one of Sissy’s performances at a nightclub [a beautiful and breathy rendition of “New York, New York”] show he cares. Her insistence to be a part of his life is also admirable and touching, but there’s also awkwardness.

Their comfort around each other naked initially makes you think they aren’t related until later. In the biggest scrum between the two in the film, a naked Fassbender pins down his on-camera sister, who initially believes he is joking and berates her. For a second, you wonder, will he rape his own sister to quench his need? He doesn’t deny sex from any of the men or women that accost him in the film, but never finds any sort of happiness along the way.

He seems to enjoy the hunt, but once his prey is caught, he appears miserable. The game is over right after it starts for him. Again, while the sex scenes show Brandon trying to find the satisfaction he needs, the best parts of the film happen when he is not a monster, but more a silent predator.

The early scene on the subway is an emotional one and goes to show Brandon is all about satisfying his thirst and not about fulfilling anyone else’s. With not a word said, Fassbender is able to deliver everything the audience needs to know about his character. However, the return to that premise at the conclusion of the film proves little. As the lady who was seemingly shocked at what Brandon’s eyes indicated he wanted earlier is now ready to grant him access, he’s been through far too much to take her up on her offer.

Or is he? In spite of several moments throughout the film that should have made him reevaluate his life decisions, Brandon doesn’t seem to feel regret. It’s obvious he’s ashamed of himself, but he lacks the power to truly change his life for the better, even when the opportunity continually presents itself.

While it does not provide any real conclusion to the tale, the ending is fair. Brandon is an addict. He has a problem. His tale isn’t cut and dry. The answers to the questions he has about himself will not come easy. Naturally, watching this tale unfold is often uncomfortable. The nudity and grit doesn’t help the experience all the time, even when the visuals themselves are pleasing to the eyes.

But underneath the film’s lack of clothes, the inner struggle that drives it is too intriguing to pass up.

You’ll often pity Brandon, but you’ll care about him too. Just enough to make his journey one you’ll remember.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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