Shame (2011)

IMDb plot summary: A sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.

Directed by Steve McQueen. Starring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, and James Badge Dale.

Shame stars Michael Fassbender as a man with sex addiction who finds himself struggling to make real-world emotional connections. Like so many of the best films dealing with issues of addiction, there's a deeply grimy and unpleasant sheen to this whole film, and our main character Brandon's sexual encounters aren't shown to us in a way that's at all erotic, just dismal and empty, particularly during the final third. The ending is deliberately ambiguous, and while I like that choice on paper, it didn't land quite as well as I wanted it to -- I think I needed a bit more wind-down aftermath than we got, for it to wholly grip me. That being said, though, this is a fascinating movie and one that I think is going to sit with me the more I think about it. Writing a review right after watching it almost feels a little unfair, like I haven't fully finished it, because this one needs time to digest. I may have to mentally revisit it in a month or so and see if it's settled into a more clear place in my mind.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Shame > Arthur Christmas

Shame < Key Largo

Shame < Don't Look Up

Shame > Is It Fall Yet?

Shame > Spider-Man 2

Shame > Kiss Me Kate

Shame > Battle Royale

Shame < Die Hard

Shame > Incendies

Shame > The Salesman

Shame < The Night Before

Final spot: #1466 out of 3860, or 62%.