My favourite movie of the Venice Film Festival was undoubtedly, Shame by British video-artist Steve McQueen, which screened yesterday and met with universal acclaim. A desperate, gloomy tale of sex-addiction, urban-desolation and self-mortification, Shame is directed with such powerful, astonishing visual style by McQueen and acted with such raw, full commitment by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan (vulnerable, sassy and fascinating), that it’s all but impossible that it will be ignored by the Venice jury.
Care Mulligan and Michael Fassbender are siblings in SHAME
McQueen and his cinematography Sean Bobbit (who also lensed Hunger) capture a ghostly, liquid New York City, which sets the perfect atmosphere of loneliness and despair for Brandon’s (Fassbender) compulsive acts of sexual abjection. Shame is uncompromising bleeding cinema. It’s also deeply moving and compassionate in the depiction of the relationship between Brandon and his sister Sissy (Mulligan) who unexpectedly breaks into his apartment asking for help and forcing him out of his shell of frozen emotions.
Continue for more on Shame and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis follow-up.
The wise screenplay by Abi Morgan never judges the characters behavior or tries to explain it away, making the story far more unsettling and universal. McQueen, who achieved feature debut acclaim with Hunger (2008), confirms himself as an extraordinary talent: he uses long, often silent, shots and extreme close-ups to enter the soul of Brandon and his equally damaged sister. Fassbender’s face and his nervous, tense body show us everything (even the absence of emotions) without saying a word. Particularly successful is the night-club sequence where Mulligan sings in real time a bluesy, intimate rendition of “New York New York” that will forever change your idea of this otherwise energetic, sparkling song. A masterpiece.
Finally...
Marjane Satrapi reacts to a lengthy standing ovation. Photograph © Fabrizio Spinetta
I missed the screening of Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken With Plums) which is Marjane Satrapi's mostly live action follow-up to her memorable animated debut Persepolis. The general response by critics was very positive, with many calling it a cute bittersweet movie in the vein of Amélie. The audience was even more enthusiastic; my friend and photographer Fabrizio Spinetta reported from the evening screening that there was a standing ovation of 20 minutes (photo above). We can only wait and see if meets the jury's tastes but it's one of the most well received films in competition.
Editor's Note: This is Ferdi's last post from Venice as he has returned home after soaking up those high profile first four days of goodies. Please give him a round of applause in the comments for sending such great original photos and sharing his notes on Carnage, A Dangerous Method, W.E., Contagion, and The Ides of March. Or you can survey all the Venice related posts here.
Thanks again, Ferdi! - Nathaniel