-Shame. Co-written and directed by Steve McQueen. Starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.
Rating: 7 (out of 10)
It's tricky to write a PG review of the very R-rated Shame, a film about a man trapped by the abuse of his past and the insatiable sexual appetite of his present. Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a successful executive living in Manhattan, in a carefully constructed environment that lets him play out his desires. But his is a joyless existence.
Enter Brandon's sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan), an aspiring chanteuse who is the opposite of Brandon: she's all emotion, no control. Sissy is the only person with whom Brandon has any connection whatsoever, but her presence threatens to unhinge him emotionally. The film follows the pair as Sissy tries to connect with her brother and he pushes her away, and both make egregious sex decisions that only further their selfloathing.
It's fitting that in a lounge scene Sissy sings a slow, sad version of "New York, New York", about people with little town blues longing to make it in a city that never sleeps. There's no sleep for Brandon, who wanders the streets at night, with grim determination.
"We're not bad people, we just come from a bad place," is the only clue to the shared trauma of their upbringing. Director Steve McQueen (Hunger) has created a film that is a tad over-stylized and in need of more narrative to satisfy viewers, but it succeeds because of the raw, tormented performances by both Fassbender and Mulligan. I'd bank on seeing Fassbender's name on the list of nominees come awards time, and Mulligan should be a shoo-in.
An expertly acted, depressing exposition of human fragility.
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Directed by Tomas Alfredson. Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and John Hurt.
Rating: 8 (out of 10)
It wasn't so long ago that every villain you saw onscreen spoke with a Russian accent, and the Cold War was a very real threat that hung like a pall over the West.
John le Carré plumbed the depths of these fears in his spy novels, most notably his 1974 classic, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The successful novel and equally well-received television miniseries (starring Alec Guinness) is now a feature film that boasts some of the biggest names in Brit cinema.
George Smiley (Gary Oldman) leaves the British Secret Service after a clandestine operation to sniff out a mole in the ranks goes horribly wrong. When it becomes clear that the informant is still at work in the upper echelons of MI6 - known as "The Circus" - Smiley is forced out of retirement to stop the leak of sensitive information once and for all. He's a brilliant inside man, in that the men consistently underestimate him: in his worn raincoat and retro specs, Smiley looks more like a doddering great-uncle than the smartest man in the room.
The suspects are Percy Alleline, codenamed "Tinker" (Toby Jones), Bill Haydon aka "Tailor" (Colin Firth), Roy Bland or "Soldier" (Ciaran Hinds) and Toby Esterhase, "Poor Man" (David Dencik). Smiley assembles a team from the lower ranks to help him steal files and amass intel. The plot machinations are not for the daft, nor those who have had an eggnog or two before heading to the theatre: you need to stay sharp in order to play "who's the mole" here.
Director Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In) and director of photography Hoyte Van Hoytema do a brilliant job of saturating the film with a 1970s feel in dull tans and browns: you can practically smell the tweed and the Benson and Hedges.
Certainly the smartest thriller of the year, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy already has fans overseas campaigning for a sequel.
