Michael Fassbender leads us through one man’s struggle with taboo in Steve McQueen’s moving picture SHAME.  Delicately natural performances temper the intense world of the sex addict Brandon. There is very little  dialogue in the film’s opening, highlighting the primal nature of the subject matter. Fassbender’s portrayal of Brandon is a “warts and all” performance, both physically and emotionally.

McQueen’s casting choice makes for a fascinating story: the tall, dark and strikingly handsome lead has the charisma and the money to get whatever he wants, to guarantee that all his hungers are sated, but at what emotional cost?  The true conflict begins when his distant sister, the stunning musician Cissy (Carey Mulligan) comes to stay. Her contrasting struggle is the search for love.  Her pathetic nightclub performance of “New York, New York” confronts him with a vulnerability he can’t bear to acknowledge, and Brandon’s incomprehending and impassable jealousy of his sister can only be dealt with through anger.

The powerful, orchestral soundtrack is often overblown, and at times it’s unclear whether the score is expressing McQueen’s or Brandon’s concept of taboo – for instance, when the mood darkens during Brandon’s foray into a gay club.  It’s not just great white sharks who are popularly misrepresented as terrifying man-eaters.  Each graphic sex scene is more difficult to watch than the last, as Fassbender’s remarkable range of expressions shows Brandon’s heavy burdens of lust and guilt. With SHAME McQueen brings both humanity and sexuality too close for comfort.

SHAME will be officially released in the UK on January 13, 2012