Shame

[Alexandro]

SPOILERS


I do wish the film had more info on how a guy like Brandon functions in all the other aspects of life while at the same time keeping up with his own impulses. However I admired the film for it's will to avoid all the cliches of addictions that are usually found on films. The one thing that did bothered me was Sissy's storyline. It starts pretty well but it becomes way too predictable by the time it ends. Maybe the character should be different or something from the beginning, I don't really know. It's just that her "I'm the fun sister" attitude that she has from the beginning made where she was going way too obvious for me to believe something else could happen besides her ending up trying to commit suicide right after that discussion with Brandon. It just felt like unnecessary suspense.

[DocSportello]

Spoilers




I finally got around to watching this last night for the first time and it really blew me away. I was expecting to feel totally grimy the whole time but I ended up completely enthralled. All the characters were believable to me. Even the supporting roles like James Badge Dale's character. I've never liked his acting (he kind of annoys the shit out of me to tell the truth), but I felt like I knew him as that dude who is so utterly convinced he's the man and so completely oblivious to what people actually think of him. Or Brandon's office fling girl. That date scene seemed so real to me. It was perfect the way the brutal waiter kept interrupting them and how she seemed so cheated when she realized how Brandon felt about relationships being unrealistic.

Fassbender was spot on and I think the sense of entrapment he brought is the most relatable aspect of his performance. The scenes where he would blow up at is sister were great especially the one on the couch shot from behind. The incest aspect seems totally possible now but I'm glad it wasn't completely explained why they are the who the are. One of the best I've seen in a while.

I hope he stayed on that train.

[ElPandaRoyal]

Rewatched it, this time at home on a beautiful Blu-ray transfer and it only confirmed my previous opinion. Hell, I can even go as far as to say that I loved it even more the second time. But I still can't tell whether he stayed on that train or not. I hope he did.

Oh, as far as Sissy goes, I love that character as well. She's not the fun sister. She's as troubled as his brother, and the fact that you think from the start that something might happen to her is perfect because I also think it's obvious. In fact, it's obvious to anyone who pays attention to her, except for her big brother, who is so immersed in his own demons to see it. That whole relationship adds another dimension to the movie.