Shame is one of those films that you don't really want to watch with other people. Mainly because of the subject matter, which in this case is sex addiction. And just for a warning for those who get easily offended by sexual acts, this film does contain ass-licking, Yes, you read that right: ass-licking.

Now that we have that out of the way, Shame follows Brandon, a polished good-looking young man living New York. He has a great job and his life seems great on the outside, but he's actually a sex addict. And for a good portion of the beginning of this film, we get a look at how he tries to satisfy himself in the weirdest ways. Then…

Shame, Shame, what to say about Shame?

Control.

The almost extreme extent to which Steve McQueen has really bent the filmic medium to his will, creating a pretty well-defined style in only two films. Although still not a traditional narrative, and maybe not even a full character portrait (or is that the point?), Shame is still something slightly more than an experimental art piece, it is definitely cinematic. McQueen's filmmaking is more of the same as we saw from Hunger, and all at once more refined, more controlled, more restrained, more expressive. He is refusing to work within established boundaries, and instead is creating products that are very much their own thing.

The characters McQueen creates in Brandon, Cissy, and…

Sex addiction is often seen as a rather silly and trivial addiction, one that celebrities wheel out when their infidelities become public knowledge. Yet in Steve McQueen's second feature it is portrayed as potentially serious, debilitating and life destroying as drug or alcohol addiction. The film is as utterly empty as Brandon's own existence and whilst that may sound like a flaw it really isn't. McQueen puts you in his world and gets under the skin of Brandon's hollow life and ambiguous family backstory. It is odd coming out of a film where you feel so little, normally they aim to heighten emotions not numb them, but it is crucial in understanding the character and the world he inhabits for…

We're not bad people.
We just come from a bad place.

A very slow and subtle film but still mesmerizing. I would not have thought a film about a sex addict would be so elegant. This film leaves a lot to think about after viewing and can be interpreted in so many different ways, is Brandon's shame about his dependency on sex? His inability to have a normal healthy relationship (passing 4 months) -- or is it to do with the subtext between him and his sister, Sissy?

Fassbender is such a great actor, he really can do no wrong by me. Every film he has been in radiates with his intensity and a perfect execution and he is no…

When approaching a subject like sex addiction it is very easy to descend into superficiality and a too gratuitous display of what is a serious disorder. Luckily this is not the case in Steve McQueen's impressive film, Shame. Brandon is handsome, seemingly successful and undeniably charming, at first glance he appears almost flawless. However, if anyone knew him intimately they'd know he only functions outwardly. Scarred by his past he is an emotional trainwreck inept at forming any sort of relationship that doesn't rely purely on sexual thought. When one day his sister busts back into his life things get increasingly tough for him and the longer he has her company the worse his addiction gets.

While I enjoyed Hunger…

Shame is one of those films that you don't really want to watch with other people. Mainly because of the subject matter, which in this case is sex addiction. And just for a warning for those who get easily offended by sexual acts, this film does contain ass-licking, Yes, you read that right: ass-licking.

Now that we have that out of the way, Shame follows Brandon, a polished good-looking young man living New York. He has a great job and his life seems great on the outside, but he's actually a sex addict. And for a good portion of the beginning of this film, we get a look at how he tries to satisfy himself in the weirdest ways. Then…