 |
| Dude, seriously, you need to wash those sheets. Gross. |
I had been wanting to see "Shame" for a while now because the trailer was very intriguing, Michael Fassbender is a cool dude actor and the thrill of seeing a NC-17 flick in theaters was definitely a factor. It takes a lot of hype and balls, I guess, to market and distribute an NC-17 film these days. It hardly ever happens anymore because of how the rating effects box office returns. But, I get the feeling the makers of "Shame" weren't really concerned about making big bucks off this super weird and dark flick about a really angry sex addict living out his sad life in New York.
Normally, I'd want nothing to do with a movie like this. Super arty director, white people doing shitty things to other white people, lots of woe is me bullshit, etc. There are definitely a few scenes in "Shame" that choke on their own artiness, but overall I thought it kept things moving pretty well and I appreciate how little it spelled things out for the audience. There's a fine line between obtuse just to be arty and weird and making a subtle, challenging and attention-holding movie. This one mostly veers on that latter, good side of that line. Nothing much is revealed as to why Fassbender is such an angry sex addict and very little is said up front as to why things are strained and weird between him and his sister, played by British cutie Carey Mulligan. You just kinda have to go with it and watch Fassbender go through a variety of daily gross sex stuff.
The downside to there not being a whole lot of answers in this movie is that it gives you few reasons to care much about the characters. I didn't quite feel like I was being punished for being a viewer like I tend to feel during a shitty Von Trier flick or something, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. The title certainly fits the movie. I'd say Fassbender deserves a nomination for best actor, but he was also in like 50 other movies this year so I guess it's a toss-up for which one he ends up getting props for.
great review. number 1 pet peeve in movie reviewers or blog writers is when an entire paragraph spells out the plot like the back of a movie box. that or either detailing the plot out in excruciating detail.
ReplyDeletemovie looks fucking WEIRD but i too am fasbendering pretty hard. did you see hunger? kind of want to peep? not sure if i want to or not exactly...
thanks, bud. agreed on regaling the plot lines in movie reviews. waste of space.
ReplyDeletemovie was very weird. more i think about it, the more i kind of like it, though.
haven't seen hunger yet, but now I kinda want to.
can "Going on a Fassbender" now be an expression for doing a ton of something in a short amount of time? brb gonna check urban dictionary, lol.
lolz at going on a fassbender.
Deletesaw this tonight. a few things (spoilers).
the bad:
i paid to see a hard dick i feel like i got ripped off! i also paid to see him bang his sister, NO DICE WTF. lolz. were we to believe that his lowest moments were doing gay stuff? is that offensive? everyone in new york wants to fuck each other? walk down a random street in NY and people are banging in a high rise? cool i guess. cop out by having his sister live at the end? choose your own adventure ending? PASS.
the good:
the carey mulligan singing scene was hands down the most uncomfortable scene in the movie. i liked how sad and stuff it was. i loved the date scene, LOVED that he couldn't perform when he was with a woman he genuinely had feelings for. it was edited really well and the music was great. wasn't as into the hand held camera vibe at times especially since at first it was all dolly and tripod shots. like just keep it fucking steady and i'm good. half and half is better then all hand held i guess. LOVED the bar scene where he gets himself beat up so he can feel something be it pain or whatever. but just a great fucking self hating scene.
i didn't hate it at all like i thought i would, and fassbender does a bang up job (lol pun), i liked more about it that i hated. MASSIVE brett easton ellis vibes. white upper class high functioning sociopaths being terrible to other white rich people. do i care anymore? it's not the early 2000's anymore so why is this a trope in movies still?
the more i think about this movie the more i don't like it so i'll just stick with the 3/5 i think it gets from me.
luv ya babe.
nice, glad you peeped it. I, too, was definitely expecting some major incest from the way the story was set up and I was actually quite relieved there wasn't. i guess it would have driven the addiction thing home super hard, but yeah, ewwwww.
Deletenice call on it basically being American Psycho but with compulsive sex instead of compulsive killing. hadn't connected that yet, lots of similarities.
carey mulligan bar scene was def a show stopper. could not believe how long it went on.
yeah, strange flick. thanks for posting your thoughts. party on, budski.
PS: "i paid to see a hard dick i feel like i got ripped off!" quote of the year.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete