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Shame: wow, Fassbender, wow.
Apr. 26th, 2012 01:55 amWhy did everyone warn me about Shame? What an excellent, emotionally powerful movie, so simple and beautiful in its execution.
Of course, I spoiled myself about almost every plot point as I hovered around the film, wondering if I would find it depressing, dispiriting, dripping with self-conscious "Indie film-itis" (which I generally find pretentious and dull). Did I just want to see Fassbender naked? (Answer: yes.) Was I going to be disappointed, as many are, by the unsexiness of his character's misery in this role?
I slowly decided that emotional trauma playing out in sexual dysfunction--well, that's a personal fascination of mine and lot of what I write. Hello, Last Port Of Call, much of the Beg Me For It series, Here Again, Not My Affair? Not to mention Little Boy Blue.
My research, alas, left no plot to be revealed.
What remained was Michael Fassbender's performance and Steve McQueen's cinematography. And wow.
Fassbender's face and body language speaks volumes. He shifts from near mechanistic smugness, to badly shaken vulnerability, to utter awkwardness, catching every sexual cue and missing all the personal ones. At one point he genuinely doesn't know what to do, and his confusion manifests in a host of half-started motions, followed by curling in a child-like ball, and then finally running away.
A lesser actor could not have played this role. The most painful, miserable scene is the one that should have been the sexiest, and it's all in his face and eyes.
There are few verbal cues, and with actor like Fassbender (and his co-star, who was a breath of honesty and fresh air) you don't need them. But bring your appreciation of angst and unromantic sexuality. This is not an opportunity to romanticize Fassbender but rather to relish a complex role Fassbender plays.
( General spoilers, reading between the lines )
I haven't begun to speak about McQueen's cinematography. Suffice to say: watch the backgrounds. Every detail matters, even the signage on the subway gives away hints, like the symbolism of a medieval painting. This film is art.
Of course, I spoiled myself about almost every plot point as I hovered around the film, wondering if I would find it depressing, dispiriting, dripping with self-conscious "Indie film-itis" (which I generally find pretentious and dull). Did I just want to see Fassbender naked? (Answer: yes.) Was I going to be disappointed, as many are, by the unsexiness of his character's misery in this role?
I slowly decided that emotional trauma playing out in sexual dysfunction--well, that's a personal fascination of mine and lot of what I write. Hello, Last Port Of Call, much of the Beg Me For It series, Here Again, Not My Affair? Not to mention Little Boy Blue.
My research, alas, left no plot to be revealed.
What remained was Michael Fassbender's performance and Steve McQueen's cinematography. And wow.
Fassbender's face and body language speaks volumes. He shifts from near mechanistic smugness, to badly shaken vulnerability, to utter awkwardness, catching every sexual cue and missing all the personal ones. At one point he genuinely doesn't know what to do, and his confusion manifests in a host of half-started motions, followed by curling in a child-like ball, and then finally running away.
A lesser actor could not have played this role. The most painful, miserable scene is the one that should have been the sexiest, and it's all in his face and eyes.
There are few verbal cues, and with actor like Fassbender (and his co-star, who was a breath of honesty and fresh air) you don't need them. But bring your appreciation of angst and unromantic sexuality. This is not an opportunity to romanticize Fassbender but rather to relish a complex role Fassbender plays.
( General spoilers, reading between the lines )
I haven't begun to speak about McQueen's cinematography. Suffice to say: watch the backgrounds. Every detail matters, even the signage on the subway gives away hints, like the symbolism of a medieval painting. This film is art.