Shame

Shame has built a devoted audience in Australia on Beamafilm and HBO Max among viewers who want their drama to earn its emotional beats. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Michael Fassbender leads a cast that never overplays its hand. Available now on Beamafilm — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Shame earns its spot. The writing in Shame treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control. The performances from Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. Shame came out in 2011. The performances in Shame do a lot of work in the silences between the dialogue. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Shame delivers. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Michael Fassbender's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.