Spoilers ahoy.
In fact, I disagree with a lot of the public sentiment on Shame. Unfortunately, most of the discussions I have regarding films these days is on Twitter and I have not currently perfected the art of condensing my opinions in less than 200 characters. So, I thought it would make a nice break from the overly Woody Allen "inspired" (read rip off) bizarre bits of fiction I've been doing to break this down somewhat.
Okay, let's make no bones about it, Michael Fassbender's character Brandon has a lot of sex in this film. Sex is something that occupies a unique position on society, even more so on film. In life, sex is still a rather taboo subject considering its necessity in life. In film, it's a good way not only to titillate and excite an audience, but also a fine method of notching up the film's rating along side a good set of cussing. This is all very odd considering how prevalent violence has become on screen considering the criminal nature of such actions in real life. Now, in the run up to the film's release, a huge part of the fervour surrounding the film was the description of the central character as a sex addict. The BBC even went so far as commission a documentary on a British comic's experience with his addiction and release it the week following the film's opening. This is where my main source of conflict comes with others' interpretation of the film. I do not think Shame is about sex addiction or addiction at all.
This is not meant in a Mark Kermode-esque "Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy is not a film about spying, it's about trust and merely contains spies". I don't see any reason to come out of that film with the conclusion that Brandon is a sex addict unless one walks in thinking that he is. Also, not contradictory, I'm not trying to suggest that Brandon couldn't be a sex addict, but this is not a secure conclusion based on the information presented by the film as a stand alone entity. As is no doubt painfully obvious from my rantings on this blog, I am no expert in anything, let alone psychology, human behaviour or what classes as addiction. So, with that in mind, let's play out my ill-informed opinions.
Shame doesn't hold back any punches when it comes to Brandon's sexual appetite. In the opening act of the film we see him have sex with a prostitute, masturbate at home and at work, have rough sex under a bridge, and finally, leer and nearly seduce a fellow subway user. Now I'm not trying to suggest that this is normal behaviour, but can it justify the label addict? I am of the understanding that addiction implies that one is dependent on some manner of substance or behaviour that may have unhealthy or unfortunate consequences. Now, whereas Brandon definitely partakes in habitual dosages of physical contact, I don't see anything that deems his behaviour dependent on sex at the expense of other aspects of his life notwithstanding deliberate avoidance of issues. Sure, he is definitely having sex more often than most of us out there, but how is having a sexual release three times a day any different than enjoying three square meals a day? Why is a compulsion for sex different from a compulsion for food? On this note, I know a few people who eat probably more than they should, but they exercise enough to keep their weight and physique in check. So does this imply that addiction is no mere more than just having a larger appetite than others for certain behaviours and in addition, not being able to keep such behaviours from infringing onto one's life? In which case, I think there is a clear argument against Brandon being classed as an addict.
During the running time of Shame, I feel that there is only three sequences where Brandon is out of control. However, I feel that although he is expressing himself sexually in these sequences (or, in one moment, merely attempting), the cause of this erratic behaviour lies elsewhere. The cause being his relationship with his sister. In the opening shots of Shame, prior to Sissy's arrival, played by a stunningly raw Carey Mulligan, we see a glimpse into Brandon's routine. Although it is definitely an NC-17 routine, I wouldn't say this looks like a man lost in sex. We all have our passions. Some of us come home and think about nothing more than conversing with our other halves. Other people come home wondering about who Kenny Dalglish is going to dress for his opening eleven. Would we call a football fan checking BBC Sport at lunch lost in his fervour for sport? Brandon's behaviour out of work may inspire envy or disgust in us, but I think it is a reach to argue that it is ruining his life. In fact, it seems quite the opposite. Less that twenty minutes into the film, we hear Brandon's boss declare to strangers that Brandon "fucking nailed it today". So it seems that he has his shit together at this point. This all changes when Sissy arrives.
Brandon's routine, no matter how strange it may seem, is disrupted. To me it seems that all of his destructive behaviour stems out of his interactions with his sister and with other people. There is an aspect of the plot that involves Brandon attempting to court a woman in a more tradition manner (i.e. dinner, chat, not having sex within a few hours of meeting him). This arc culminates in Brandon not being able to perform in bed with this woman. Some argue that this is due to his inability to enjoy emotional and (in a condescending manner) more "meaning" physical contact. This may be an aspect of it, but I feel that what is more revealing is the run up to these dates. What is his motivation for courting this woman? Between the opening scene and the date, the major shake ups in his life are Sissy's arrival and a suspicious and somewhat stern conversation with his boss (who is a more complex character than the screenplay really portraits) regarding the internet browsing history of his work computer. Brandon gets a first hand look of his own behaviour when his sister beds his boss within the evening of meeting him. The conversation he later has with the boss is comically accompanied with a Skype conversation with the boss' son. Ergo, it seems a natural progression that Brandon will feel more inclined to reject his own behaviour and pursue a more conventional relationship at this time.
Despite his attempts to reject his current lifestyle (even going as far to throw out his "dirty" laptop and pornography magazines), things don't work out the way Brandon envisioned (as mentioned above). This I feel has more to do with him feeling out what works for him emotionally. Who are we to say that a string of emotionless sex is less satisfying than a relationship? Brandon had the chance to consummate a more traditional relationship but his body rejected it. This scene is followed up with Brandon partaking in his more regular behaviour. From here, things carry on as normal until Sissy walks in on him masturbating. They have a brief fight, a slight argument and then Sissy makes a point about the poor relationship their family have ("If I left now, I’d never hear from you again. Don’t you think that’s sad?"). It is here that Brandon's behaviour becomes more erratic and destructive. What follows is a sequence that I both hold in awe and feel slightly ambiguously about. He goes to bar and has a bit to drink. While he sits at the bar, a rather breasty young woman approaches. Flirting would be an understatement for what occurs between them, but the fact is, it is apparent very early on in this sequence that the young lady is accompanied by someone. Looking at the surroundings, one can surmise that this gentleman would be of a rather tough and physical nature. Surprise, surprise, he doesn't take to Brandon very kindly. Now, is Brandon so starved of physical contact that he can't help himself from putting his hands up the young lady's skirt? No, not at all. In fact he enjoys sexual contact at least twice more that evening. What I think is that he's deliberately putting himself into a precarious situation, in some sort of misguided self-martyred emotional state.
Following his beat down by a couple of bar room thugs, Brandon makes eyes with a guy across the road. The man disappears into a building. Brandon follows. What luck! He's stumbled upon a gay sex club/brothel thing. My issue here is that this is in the middle of a very emotional overwrought section. The editing and soundtrack are both disorientating and tense. I think it is a natural conclusion to assume that the director/editor/general production team designed this whole triptych to be the "downfall" section of the film. The only issue here is that no comment is ever made about sexuality or sexual health throughout the film so it almost appears homophobic merely by its positioning in the plot. Sure, bisexuality may be something that Brandon has never considered before, but by positioning it here, the film seems to imply that this is negative or self destructive behaviour, which I can't agree with. Finally there is a climatic threesome finale to this sequence. This is the most ambiguous. It arrives at the fever pitch of this arc. It clashes violently with a voice over from Sissy on Brandon's ignored mobile answer phone. It sums up these two characters perfectly. "We’re not bad people. We just come from a bad place." The issue here is that Brandon doesn't seem to be enjoying himself so much in this sequence. Is this a moment of realisation or fatigue? Is he realising that his "dependancy" on sex is out of control or merely that he should be facing up to his responsibilities at this time?
Truthfully I feel that the most traumatising experiences Brandon goes through in this film are family related. First, he has to overhear his boss fucking his sister. How does he deal with this? Goes for a jog. Secondly, he realises that he can't escape his family or his past. How does he deal with this? Puts himself in a situation where he can get beat up. He drinks, receives a blowjob and has a threesome. The fact that he doesn't react to both situation similarly argues that he is not behaving habitually. In the latter sequence, do we feel that he is lessening himself by partaking in these experiences? Is he cheapening himself? I don't feel that the film puts that across. In fact, the only way he lessens himself is by ignoring his responsibilities as Sissy's brother. Sometimes I do similar things, but if I'm ignoring my family by watching Have I Got News For You, does that make me a television addict?
Another film about addiction that I've heard Shame gathering comparison to is Requiem for a Dream. However, unlike Shame, in that film we very much see the lengths that those suffering from addiction will go to in order to get their fix. On top of that, we see what happens when these people are denied their desired substances. Of course, this is not a fair comparison. Not only is heroin illegal and harder to obtain, my understanding is that the addiction is more physiological. Interesting, Shame never deals with what would occur if Brandon went some time without sex. Even during Sissy's tenure with him, he continues to masturbate. During the bar sequence with his boss, it appears he may be going home alone, and then like some Deus Ex Fuckina, he is picked up by a woman. Truthfully, we have no sense of what lengths he would go to for fucking.
So, lets compare with another readily available product - beer. Interestingly, there are only a couple of sexual encounters depicted in Shame that don't feature alcohol. Hell, even when he is home after work watching pornography, there's a beer on the table. Now, if we were to see him slip him to the bathroom and swig on a hip flask, I think we'd be quite right to label him an alcoholic, but I think that would have more to do with how reckless this behaviour is given the affect that alcoholic has on us. However, sexual release does not impair our ability to concentrate or perform our jobs adequately. In fact, I'd imagine that his ability to work effectively will have probably improved after his bathroom break. However, yet again, this is not a fair comparison due to the physical effects of booze. Gambling might be closer to the mark, but must be ignored due to its financial implications. Is gambling only an issue when you, inevitably, stop winning? So is sex addiction not defined similarly in seeing the lengths Brandon goes to in order to have sex after being rejected? We wouldn't know as sex is a very easy prospect for the character.
In the end, I think Shame is a bizarrely puritanical look at someone who is more sexually liberal than the majority of the population. The so-called low points of his narrative arc only come from what I deem to be a somewhat temporary notion or desire to be more like other people rather than to be true to himself. The true conflict in this film completely revolves around his distraught and strained relationship with his sister. Brandon doesn't appreciate how much Sissy means to him and this very little to do with him sleeping with prostitutes. Instead of facing up to whatever history they have, he avoids it; sometimes in having sex, sometime in attempting to date someone. Let this not detract though from the incredibly job that Mulligan, Fassbender and McQueen have done on this film. In fact, I was thinking earlier today that with this effort, McQueen has made a very strong claim for the greatest contemporary director. His ability is near unparalleled in this day and age when it comes to telling a story visually, no matter how complex or debate-worthy it is.
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Other musings
Phew, what a week. Even with my study day today, I worked 50 hours this week. I've got a nice study weekend ahead of me too.
I nearly had a date tonight. Not sure what happened there.
On a lighter note, I have a friend. She gets in touch with me every couple of months to complain about whatever boy she's dating at the time over a few drinks (which I always pay for - last time it was champagne!). Sometimes we make plans to meet and she forgets to follow up on them. She got in touch a few weeks ago declaring that we should do something upon this Thursday. I agreed doubting that she would remember when it came to the actual day. Unfortunately, she did remember. She's quite a sensitive gal, so I didn't just want to tell her that I wasn't in the mood. She wouldn't take well to that. Instead, I texted her throughout the day telling her that I was stuck in the office (I'm a liar sometimes, deal with it - though to be fair, I only got out yesterday at 7pm, so I was truthfully knackered). I told her frequently that it seemed that I wouldn't be able to make it. She turns up to the bar anyway on her own and shouts at me. She no longer wants me to get in contact with her. Considering I rarely spoke to her anyway, this does not seem difficult.
Body Heat and Wild Things made for a surprisingly good double bill. I really have to give Wild Things credit for how offbeat and intriguing it was. Both end with nice beach shots.
I am extremely envious with Gary Sanchez Productions and their gorgeous logo. Grr.
This week may involve a lot of study, J Edgar, a trip to a farm, jogging and other such film. Now, off to bed with me with Diane Keaton's book (nearly finished!). I will wake up in 6 hours, go jogging, post my LOVEFiLM, come back and study. I can't wait until I finish my exams. Then I will have to think of another excuse for not working on my script.
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