Follows an arc familiar from numerous other films that deal with the theme of addiction — an accelerated freefall towards rock bottom followed by self-awareness and a hint of redemption.

| Oct 28, 2022

Shame is, indeed, a perfect distillation of the suffering-guy archetype.

| Aug 28, 2019

Cleverly written and beautifully portrayed, Shame is a sensitive look at sex and addiction we've rarely seen before in film.

| Original Score: A+ | Sep 8, 2017

The film's numb attitude assumes that Brandon's problem is beyond reach or rescue. So why are we watching, except for high-tone misery and something close to pornography?

| Jun 20, 2013

Many may hail Shame as a voyeuristic masterpiece when in fact it's an empty provocation verging on the ludicrous.

| Jun 20, 2013

It is an exercise in controlled primeval cinematic chaos, the filmmaker going places and showcasing facets of the human conditions many would run screaming in the opposite direction to get away from.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 27, 2012

The film is a raw, unsparing look at the downside of humanity.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 20, 2012

It's McQueen's astonishing knack for layering thought itself into his images that really stuns, and Shame is packed with scenes which are both immaculately composed and seething with meaning.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 13, 2012

No one will fail to find, in this strange, disturbing jewel, some reflecting facet of himself or herself.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 12, 2012

With tremendous performances from Fassbender and Mulligan, and such superb technique from McQueen, this is a horrible inferno.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 12, 2012

By turns raw, elegant and uncompromising. An assured companion piece to Hunger, if not a significant progression.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 12, 2012

It reconfirms McQueen as a filmmaker with an unflinching, microscopic gaze on the world.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 10, 2012

Brave, beautifully acted and emotionally revealing - an early strong contender for the most provocative and compelling film of the year.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 9, 2012

Few filmmakers have plumbed the soul-churning depths of sexual addiction as fearlessly as British director Steve McQueen has in Shame.

| Dec 29, 2011

Fassbender performs his role of the addict with a suave attitude that doesn't make you hate the guy. At first you envy him -- by the end, you pity him.

| Dec 17, 2011

Shame is something of a dirty date that leaves you wondering what went wrong.

| Original Score: C+ | Dec 16, 2011

Equally harrowing and heartrending, Shame is a film that feels akin to going into battle, and I for one didn't emerge unscathed.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 16, 2011

[Fassbender is] so good as a man completely lost to his baser impulses that it makes "Shame" worth sitting through. Enjoying? That's a relative term. But you'll certainly appreciate it.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 15, 2011

A serious character study and exploration of addiction.

| Original Score: B+ | Dec 9, 2011

[A] graphic and spontaneous portrait of a spiraling sex addict.

| Original Score: A- | Dec 8, 2011