“Shame” will be remembered for a few things; 1) actor Michael Fassbender
taking on a role as a sex addict exposing himself completely physically
while showing very little outwardly except through his dead eyes, 2)
the longest, slowest, most boring, excruciating version of “New York,
New York” ever heard and 3) making sex on screen mind numbing and
unexciting.

Fassbender, as Brandon, has a job in a high rise New York building with
offices surrounded by glass and lives in a New York high rise with floor
to ceiling windows. What his job is remain unknown but on the job,
going to and coming home from and after work, his life revolves around
sex watching porno, hooking up with prostitutes, Internet sex,
masturbating. He is a sex machine as long as he doesn’t have to show
emotion or commitment.

Brandon has a sister, Sissy, played by Carey Mulligan, who he avoids
communicating with until she shows up at his apartment with nowhere to
stay. Sissy is the opposite of her brother being passionate, needy,
showing her emotions all over the place and in pain.

One suspects that brother and sister share a family background that
would make clear their current states but it is never explained while
the director, Steve McQueen, writers McQueen and Abi Morgan, and
director of photography, Sean Bobbitt, are being too busy with long
monotonous shots such as Fassbender jogging, sex scenes lasting too
long, concentrating how a scene is shot and not what is happening with
the characters.

While James Badge Dale, as Brandon’s married boss who goes to bed with
Sissy, and Nicole Beharie as Brando’s co-worker along with Brandon’s
various sex partners the film belongs to Carey Mulligan and Michael
Fassbender with the latter giving a daring physical performance that is
bringing him a lot of award attention.

The Glenn Gould Bach piano recordings are a cliché and the music by Harry Escott adds nothing to the film.

“Shame” is, deservedly, rated NC-17 for its full frontal and rear male and female nudity plus the sex scenes.

If/when you watch it on DVD do yourself a big favor and fast forward the “New York, New York” song sequence.