FNC 2011 via Spectacular Optical
Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)
Acclaimed British visual artist Steve McQueen (not to be confused with that Steve McQueen) did not make his first steps into the film world unnoticed. Indeed, Hunger, a stunning account of the Irish Hunger Strike of 1981, in which Michael Fassbender’s star-making performance confronted us with the mental and bodily repercussions of corrupt politics, was rightfully hailed as one of the greatest debut films of all time and best films of 2008. It came as no surprise that McQueen was going to team up with Fassbender again (with whom he is evidently building a Scorsese-De Niro relationship) for Shame, his exploration of urban alienation through the lens of an excruciating sex addiction. Incredibly precise in its composition, performances and script, Hunger is the gut-wrenching portrait of Brandon, through which McQueen exhibits his rare talent as a director and Fassbender confirms, yet again, he is one of the great actors of our time. Careful framing and impeccable sound design sustain tension out of thin air as McQueen takes us through a man’s self-destructive sexuality and his single relationship with his sister (interpreted brilliantly by Carey Mulligan) – a dynamic which escalates into a grandiose and spellbinding tragedy one can simply not look away from. Furthermore, McQueen’s unshakable aesthetic– rivalled this year perhaps only by Refn’s stellar Drive – makes it one of the most pleasing visual experiences of the year, in which the architecture and colours of the city have a voice of their own, yet merely amplify the human story McQueen and Fassbender decorticate with impeccable minutiae. Fascinating, beautiful and devastating, Shame is simply one of the best films of the year.
