In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life -- which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction -- is disrupted when his sister Cissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.
Shame is the very definition of adult filmmaking, tackling big, uncomfortable themes with intelligence and bleak realism. It doesn’t provide easy answers but McQueen has made a strangely lyrical film about ugly desperation.
Fassbender is the full package in a carnal drama that spares no blushes and pulls no punches. Likely to be one of 2012’s bravest and best.
The cyclical, self-destructive nature of addiction is vividly realised by McQueen, who directs with a frank confidence throughout, but Shame starts to adopt a more operatic tone in its latter stages as Brandon is brought to his knees, and this threatens to unbalance the picture.
Brave, beautifully acted and emotionally revealing — an early strong contender for the most provocative and compelling film of the year.
Being stuck in his company in this ponderous, empty-headed and meaningless yarn is torture.
Both the visuals and the performances are outstanding.
It may be beautifully filmed and intensely acted, but the trouble with Steve McQueen’s film about sexual addiction is it’s all been done before.
An icily compulsive portrait of damaged siblings and sex addiction, fuelled by brilliant performances by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.
Skin-deep substance means Shame ultimately lacks stamina. Don’t take your eyes off McQueen and Fassbender for a second, though.
It's wonderful to have a film with so little explanation...[It] is an enriched form of the enigma of visual art.
Emotional nullity matched to stylistic impersonality isn't a winning combination, but the film almost gets away with it thanks to Fassbender's trapped satyr, writhing in the flames of his own porno hell.
An unqualifiedmasterwork.
Shame might be an unsparing, depressing glimpse into the moral void, but it draws top performances from both Fassbender and Mulligan, and – unlike Brandon – it never chases cheap thrills.
It tells us more about its director's abilities than about Brandon. Luckily, but those abilities are enough to make it well worth seeing.
Shame is a disturbing film that penetrates our minds and gets beneath our skins as we try to understand its characters.
Harrowing but riveting.
Seldom do films about sex focus on the painful consequences of addiction so beautifully.
Perhaps Shame’s greatest strength is that every viewer can relate to it on some level. Brandon’s uncontrollable consumption and inability to form meaningful attachments are extreme reflections of modern-day living, a form of fractured isolation to which we are all subject.
Will Shame change the game for the NC-17 rating?
Director Steve McQueen discusses latest film Shame
Steve McQueen
Shame is not what you'd call an easy watch
Why there's no such thing as sex addiction
Shame: sex addicts reveal all
Shame: desperately seeking sex
Nothing but Shame
Sex addiction? Damn attractive...
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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