"Shame" dir. by Steve McQueen

"Shame" is a dark, dramatic, psychological film directed by Steve McQueen. It explores the themes of sexual addiction, intimacy and environment. By using a fractured and, at times, non-linear story structure, McQueen offers only ambiguous character arcs and plot points, with no cliched catharsis at the end.

The protagonist, Brandon, is introduced alone and naked in bed, as he contemplates the eponymous consequence of his lifestyle. His routine is quickly established through intercut scenes of: pornography, office work, casual sex, unanswered voicemails, masterbation, public transport and prostitutes. He is obviously a man who is quietly suffering, isolated and insular, with his impulses clearly focused on sex.

Sexual addiction is a key theme explored throughout the film. The viewer is immediately made to feel like a voyeur peering into Brandon's life, watching him in his most personal moments. McQueen, effectively highlights the blurred dichotomy of public and private, work and play, sex and love.

Brandon's own experience with sex is shown as cold, transactional and unemotional. His work computer is taken to be repaired after it contracts a virus and Brandon's boss, David, tells him: "Listen, one more thing. Your hard drive is filthy, all right... I'm talking like hoes, sluts, anal, double anal, penetration, inter racial facial, man... Do you think it was your intern?" Reassuring us that Brandon's mask of normality is honed and practiced. "It takes a really really sick fuck to spend all day on that shit."

His sexual addiction may be explained during the inciting incident in the film, which occurs unconventionally late in the story structure. Brandon's sister, Sissy, turns up at his apartment and there is immediately an uncomfortable, incestual subtext that follows. Brandon's relationship with his sister mirrors his dysfunctional relationship with women, in general. McQueen leaves almost all of his scenes in the film mired in ambiguity, but it is clear there are darkly sinister undertones here.

The addiction of sex is powerful and all encompassing. It now starts to become a destructive force in the film. Sissy has a complete disregard for normal boundaries and her appearance in New York aggressively interrupts Brandon ordered, controlled world.

His addiction is deviant and often leads to a pattern of self destructive behavior, from masterbating at work to his penchant for prostitutes. But David, a married man with children, also has his own addictions to sex. He constantly propositions women with innuendos and eventually ends up sleeping with Sissy in Brandon's own bed. This again blurs the line between public and private, acceptable and inappropriate and it is all related to sex.

Brandon has a crisis of conscience and breaks down on several occasions due to the consequences of his sexual addiction. At one point he even guts all remnants of it from his apartment. All his contraband; pornographic magazines, sex toys, lubrication, even his laptop, thrown into two black bags and discarded outside.

But what drives Brandon is his sexual addiction. It cannot just be thrown away. It eventually leads him to continue to neglect his sister and instead pursue his hedonistic impulses.

His character arc does shift after he staggers home in the harsh reality of morning after his crazed, lustful night. A sense of unprecedented guilt pains Brandon, and he realizes he is responsible for his vulnerable little sister. This culminates in an emotionally heavy scene of clarity and pity as he breaks down in front of the Hudson river. An almost purging of his sexual deviancy and shame. But just like the repetition of his learned behavior, the repetition of the vicious cycle of his addiction remains.

Intimacy is another theme explored throughout the film. Brandon clearly has emotional issues. A poignant scene, and the first act turning point, is when he goes on a conventional dinner date with Marianne, a work colleague. There is a moment before the date where Brandon becomes the voyeur and watches her waiting from him through the restaurant window. He is clearly apprehensive about entering into a situation that requires real emotions. The viewer senses a deep turmoil and conflict within him.

The dialogue between the two during the dinner is especially telling. Brandon describes his longest relationship as only four months and that he doesn't "understand why people would want to get married. Especially nowadays... I don't see the point." Marianne replies, "In relationships?" to which Brandon states, "It doesn't seem realistic." This interaction shows how Brandon is emotionally unavailable . The viewer almost feels sympathetic towards him.

Later, he attempts to engage in a sexual relationship with her, but is unable to perform and buries his head in his hands in shame. "Should I go?" she asks him, to which he coldly replies, "Yes." Immediately he returns to his normal pattern of behavior and has unemotional sex with a prostitute, as this is the only way he can get satisfaction.

Brandon's relationship with his sister also highlights the lack of intimacy in his life. This is shown in the second act turning point when Brandon and Sissy have an argument. Unhappy with the situation Brandon tells Sissy, "This isn't working out. Obviously. You need to find somewhere else to live." Sissy replies, "I don't have anywhere else to go... I make you angry all the time and I don't know why." An enraged Brandon snaps back, "No. You trap me. You force me into a corner and you trap me." Sissy pleads, "You're my brother, I'm your sister. We're family. We're meant to look after each other." This shows how vulnerable Sissy is and that she needs her old brother, but Brandon replies, "You come in here, and you're a weight on me. Do you understand me? You're a burden. You're just fucking dragging me down... Stop playing the victim." This dialogue evokes a feeling of deep distrust and resentment between the siblings and the fact that this argument takes place in front of a television set showing cartoons, once again, highlights the incestual subtext that exists between the two.

Sissy is first introduced through her voice on his answering machine, a cold and inhuman way to interact with another person, let alone a younger sibling. She even tells him after several unanswered attempts, "I'm dying of cancer!" which prompts Brandon to switch off the machine. At the end of the film when Brandon is frantically trying to reach Sissy, after fearing she has done something stupid, he can only reach her own answering machine. Her message says, "We're not bad people, we just come from a bad place." This lack of emotional contact can be juxtaposed with his heavy use of online pornography as they both require machines to communicate and do not involve any real emotion or intimacy.

Environment and surroundings is another theme explored throughout the film. New York City is as important as the central characters. McQueen portrays the city as a vast, de-humanizing, restless landscape that offers infinite possibilities and encounters. An ideal setting and brewing ground for Brandon and or anyone who suffers from sexual addiction.

Brandon lives in a high rise apartment building in midtown Manhattan. His one bedroom apartment is neat, functional and modern. The similarities to his the way he approaches sex are striking.

The long tracking running scenes of Brandon as he jogs through the cold, concrete street of Manhattan, past garbage and construction, almost exposes the cracks in the city. The bar fights and debauchery appear to be all too easily found, always lurking in the shadows.

The scene of the dinner date between Marianne and Brandon highlights the awkward, forced nature of doing something as simple as eating together with someone in this giant urban island. The attitude of the waiter, overing and interrupting, suggesting how they should eat their dinner. "How would you like the lamb?" to which Brandon replies, "Medium" and the waiter interjecting, "We recommend it pink." It quite comical, but also sad at the same time, about the societal norms and expectations of young adults in this imposing, faceless metropolis.

The climax of the movie arrives when Brandon comes back to his apartment to find Sissy has attempted suicide. The scene of him holding her wrists to stop the blood flow as he sobs is powerful and shows, for the first time, a protective quality to Brandon. He takes to his less harmful vice and runs to the edge of the Hudson River. The large, imposing, sweeping water, peculiar against the backdrop of concrete and steel. He breaks down, curled up in the fetal, weeping at the shame of his sister's actions, his addiction, his life.

The film finishes on a repetition of the opening scene, in the Subway, with Brandon eyeing a young married woman. His face scarred and bruised from the last cycle of his destructive addiction. An addiction that would appear to be unrelenting.