Seven Sins Marathon Movie 4: Shame (2011)


Lust is something that is shown in many movies to many varying degrees.  Most people might think of lust as a sexual desire, which it can be to an extent.  To truly show lust as a sin and make it captivating, though, one must take the sexual desire, or lack thereof when performing sexual acts, to an extreme level.  This level could be prostitution.  It could be rape.  Or, in the case of the fourth movie in the Seven Sins Marathon, it could be an addiction to sexual acts.

Shame was a movie released in 2011.  It was directed by Steve McQueen.  This is not the same Steve McQueen that was in movies such as The Blob, Bullitt, The Great Escape, or The Towering Inferno.  No.  This is a different McQueen.  This McQueen directed Hunger.  This McQueen is still alive.  Shame stars Michael Fassbender as a man who must deal with a life that is fueled by a sexual desire.  He hits lows that just keep getting lower and we watch as he does.

Fassbender is a force to be reckoned with.  I feel I’ve said this about other performances in previous marathon movies through my four and a half marathons.  I must say it again.  The best part in acting comes from the eyes.  Someone who can tell a story through the movement of their eyes is someone destined to be a great actor.  Watching this movie, you can look into Michael Fassbender’s eyes and see what is going through his mind.  It could be the lust he feels in the moment of sexual desire.  It could be the regret he has for certain life choices.  It could be the shame from what he has just done.  This movie could have been hugely flawed if he wasn’t able to show the shame in his eyes, but Fassbender does a great job of letting the audience see his emotions.

This is one of those movies that just goes.  Shame is a story unfolding before your eyes.  It is easy to say that about any movies.  All movies have a plot and you watch it happen.  That’s different than what I’m saying.  You’re never out of the story in this case.  You watch it happen.  You don’t think about what happens next.  You just watch.  It’s as simple as that.  Shame keeps you interested for the entire running time.  Your mind doesn’t wander.  It stays with the movie.  The movie happens and you witness every bit of it.  When it ends, you think about it.  You don’t predict what will happen.  You don’t think about how ridiculous anything in the movie is.  It feels real.  It feels right.  Everything fits together like a puzzle.  It feels like a perfectly knitted quilt.

It really is a shame that I didn’t see this movie before now.  It’s a great drama with elements of psychological horror when it comes to the addiction.  It’s not a horror by any means though.  I wouldn’t go into Shame expecting to get scared.  All I’m saying is that there are a few things that could toy with your mind in ways that good psychological horror can.  Shame works on levels that only the best movies do.  I thank McQueen for presenting this movie to us, the movie watching public, as it actually brings some substance, rather than a hollow, mindless hour and a half.

That brings this writeup to a close.  Shame was a great movie.  Next up is A Night To Remember, a movie about the sinking of the Titanic.  I saw part of it a long time ago.  I’m looking forward to watching the entire thing for the first time.

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