Shame, Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender
When I met Steve McQueen in a BelfastÌýhotelÌý3 years ago, I brought my kids. He ended up chatting to my older girl about Dora the Explorer, as I'd brought this very lap top I'm typing on now along with a dvd to keep her distracted while I talked to him and the producers of "Hunger". He seemed on edge that day, the UK and Ireland premier of "Hunger" taking place in Belfast that night. He didn't know how the film about the 1981 Hunger Strikes would play in Northern Ireland.
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He had put his faith in his own judgement and creative vision.Ìý
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A few months later, as the film picked up awards at the IFTAs in Dublin, I spoke to him again. He was wreathed in smiles, the relief palpable. He hadn't just been worried, he had believed that he and the cast would be the target for attack. Even later as the cast partied at the aftershow partyÌýI danced besideÌýhis rising star Michael Fassbender. You canÌýtell even then that FassbenderÌýwas on the way up. As was McQueen. His transition from acclaimed visual artist to respected film director seamless.Ìý
I'm talking to himÌýagain this Thursday about his new movie "Shame" . It's another collaboration with Fassbender and another film in whichÌýMcQueen has decided to keep faith withÌýhis own judgement.Ìý It contains a multitude of very graphic sex scenes - something many film makers would shy away from.Ìý
Set in New York, it's got McQueen's "Hunger" signature across it. With very little dialogue and painterly composed visuals, we are introduced toÌýBrandon. He's young, good looking, well dressed, well spoken, holds down a good job and is a sex addict.Ìý
I wondered before I went in if McQueen, after the success of "Hunger", might have sacrificed his artistry for commerciality. He hasn't. One scene in which Fassbender goes for a run through theÌýNew York streets to escape his boss and his sister (beautifully played by Carey Mulligan)Ìý using his flat (and bed) for sex, is remarkable forÌýit being filmed as one shot, no edits, cutaways, just the sense of how no matter how fast he runs he can't get away from himself. The scene reminded me of McQueen's bravery as a first time feature film director in allowing the Bobby Sands/Priest dialogue scene in the prison toÌýrun for, IÌýthink,Ìý17 minutes with no edits.ÌýÌý
"Shame" is a triumph.ÌýIt takes all the power and beauty of "Hunger" and turns up the volume.
Fassbender's portrayal of sexual addiction is painful to watch.ÌýIt's uncompromisingly filmed, one sex scene in particular goes on so long that I do find myself hunkering down into my seatÌýwilling it toÌýend, but then the camera movesÌýinto Fassbender's face, and that close up of both pain and ecstacyÌýcaptures the suffering at the heart of the film.Ìý
I would say that this film is part of the iconography of suffering, Brandon is a damaged Everyman,Ìýalmost a St Sebastian figure, his pain equal to his ecstasy, his "petit mort" another step closer to the death of his self. There's a moment of possible redemption on a date with a work colleague, a woman who wants to connect with him, but his dismissal of relationships, his sister and ultimately his own safety, leaves us questioning if he will ever recover. Unsettling, powerful, memorable.
Shame previews at theÌý, Belfast on Tuesday at 7 pm with special live satellite Q&A with director Steve McQueen and screenwriter Abi Morgan. It opens on Friday. certificate 18Ìý
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