Shame (2011); drama film review

Poster artwork for the drama film Shame.

Secret Shame by Linh

Shame is the second collaborative effort between director and writer Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender, following their first critically acclaimed film Hunger. Shame deals with aspects of the human condition, and depicts how a sex addict copes with his condition amid the continual bombardment of sexualisation of the material world, while navigating through life’s relationships with colleagues, family and strangers. The main character suffers from sex addiction and the ‘shame’ in the film’s title refers to the main character’s feeling of self-loathing and shame of what he has done, of not being able to cope with his condition and the inability to stop the urges.

SIMPLY SOCIALISING: Sissy (Carey Mulligan) flirts with David (James Badge Dale) while her brother Brandon (Michael Fassbender) watches disapprovingly in the film Shame. Image:Film4, Transmission Films.

Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) is a successful and single businessman in New York who suffers from sex addiction and hides it from others. He pays prostitutes and randomly picks up women in bars for sex at his apartment. His well-structured life of sexual activities to feed his addiction is disrupted when his wayward and estranged sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) unexpectedly appears and stays at his apartment for a while. 

Both siblings are similar in that they have problems with intimacy in relationships. It’s how they deal with pain that makes them different. Brandon avoids intimacy because his condition renders him unable to become intimate with someone on an emotional level. His sexual activities are purely to relieve his addiction and he feels most at ease engaging in sexual intercourse with strangers than with someone he knows. Sissy is extroverted, carefree, seeks attention and the need to be loved. Her lack of intimacy leads her to self-harm. For Sissy, pain becomes her pleasure, while for Brandon, pleasure relieves his pain.

PRIVATE PORN: Brandon (Michael Fassbender) watches pornography on his laptop to feed his sex addiction in the film Shame. Image: Film4, Transmission Films.

Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Prometheus) is equally brilliant in Shame as he was in Hunger and brings a compelling quality to Brandon in his performance. Fassbender provides the pathos to make Brandon believable and likeable, and his understanding of a character whose addiction is partly fed by the ‘sex-sells’ world we live in is evident in his performance. As sex is so readily accessible, available online and used in advertising for everyday consumption, Brandon feels it normalises his addiction in some ways, but also makes his addiction more debilitating.

Carey Mulligan (Drive, The Great Gatsby) is excellent as Sissy whose beautiful rendition of the song ‘New York, New York’ in the film hints at her character’s need for love and sense of belonging as much as her wish to start life anew. Mulligan is enigmatic and provocative as Sissy in her scenes with Fassbender and her performance shows she is capable of tackling other more profound, character-driven roles in the future. 

Other notable performances include Nicole Beharie who is wonderful as Brandon’s office colleague Marianne, whose close friendship with Brandon develops into a romance and brings another side of his addiction to the surface; James Badge Dale is fabulous as David, Brandon’s boss and beer buddy, who discovers that excessive amounts of sexually explicit, hardcore pornography caused a virus on Brandon’s work computer.

CLOSE CONNECTION: Brandon (Michael Fassbender) develops a romantic interest in Marianne (Nicole Beharie) in the film Shame. Image: Film4, Transmission Films.

Shame is another cinematic gem from director Steve McQueen, but the subject matter, adult themes and nudity may deter or be unsuitable for some audiences. The film requires the viewer to think about the characters’ motivations and to reflect upon them after the final credits roll. The sex scenes in Shame are explicit but necessary as they depict the need for Brandon to relieve his urges just as a film with drug scenes show alleviation of anxiety for a drug addict. It would be a shame to miss this film.

Shame Featurette-The Story Film Trailer (courtesy of Fox Searchlight):

Director: Steve McQueen

Writers: Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie, Elizabeth Masucci, Rachel Farrar, Loren Omer, Lauren Tyrrell, Robert Montano, Marta Milans, Hannah Ware, Alex Manette, Carl Low, Charisse Ballante, Calamity Chang, Amy Hargreaves, Anna Rose Hopkins, DeeDee  Luxe, Wenne Alton Davis, Lucy Walters, Stanley Mathis, Mari-Ange Ramirez

Producers: Tessa Ross, Robert Walak, Peter Hampden, Tim Haslam, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Bergen Swanson

Cinematographer: Sean Bobbitt (Director of Photography)

Original Music Composer: Harry Escott

Film Editor: Joe Walker

Production: Judy Becker (Production Designer), Charles Kulsziski (Art Director), Heather Loeffler (Set Decorator)

Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010); drama film review

DVD cover artwork for the drama film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Financial Friction by Linh

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, director Oliver Stone’s sequel to his 1987 original hit film Wall Street, matches the timbre of its predecessor but with a few more textured layers in characterisation and story plots. The sequel works well as a continuation of the previous film, yet is able to hold its own as a stand alone film.  It is mostly a human drama of love, deception, lies and vengeance, set against the backdrop of the financial sector where the almighty dollar is King.

MONEY MENTOR: Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) shares words of wisdom with Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

The sequel begins eight years after Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is released from prison in 2001 before it fast forwards to 2008 when Wall Street is on the brink of financial collapse.  Gekko is seemingly a changed man with a new outlook on money matters and a self-penned book to promote, when a young investment broker named Jake Moore (Shia LaBeouf) approaches him to seek advice in bringing down his rival Bretton James (Josh Brolin), whom he believes is responsible for Jake’s mentor’s (Frank Langella) death. Gekko’s estranged daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan) is engaged to Jake and he agrees to take on Jake as his protégé on the condition he attempts to reunite him with Winnie. However, both Gekko and Jake have ulterior motives for the pact.

LOUIS'S LOSS: Jake (Shia LaBeouf) learns there is a crisis looming at Louis' (Frank Langella) banking firm in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

Michael Douglas (Solitary Man, Behind The Candelabra) slips into his iconic Oscar-winning role of Gordon Gekko with exceptional ease and shows the idealistic young Jake how the “game” is played in the high stakes world of Wall Street. The former slick-haired and smooth-talking Gekko returns as an ageing, philosophical sage whose stint in prison has taught him that “time is life’s greatest asset”. Gekko attempts to reconcile with his daughter Winnie through his new protégé, Jake Moore, and manages to exert his influences on him to seek retribution.  Douglas pulls off the role with unrelenting charm and an inescapable hint that beneath the reformed and relaxed veneer, there still lurks the “greed-is-good” Gekko of the past.

Shia LaBeouf (The Company You Keep, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman) gives an unexpectedly solid and commendable performance as the young hotshot Jake Moore. Jake rose from humble beginnings on Long Island to land himself in the fast-paced and frenetic floor of the stock exchange. He also grabs every opportunity to introduce green energy to potential financiers, which he calls fusion simulation. Jake becomes suspicious after his banking firm Keller Zabel Investment, goes under and his boss and mentor, Louis Zabel, makes “an honourable exit” from the problems of his beleaguered company. Jake seeks to expose Bretton James for Louis's demise by befriending him and joining Bretton's company, Churchill Schwartz, to pursue funding for his green energy project. LaBeouf pumps everything he could into the innocent-looking but gutsy character Jake Moore, and he exhibits acting skills that places him amongst the best of Hollywood’s crop of young stars.

GREEN GENERATION: Jake (Shia LaBeouf) and Winnie (Carey Mulligan) share a passion for green energy in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

Academy Award nominee and talented British actress Carey Mulligan (An Education, The Great Gatsby) plays Gekko’s daughter Winnie, who is a writer and advocate for green energy on a left-wing blogsite called ‘The Frozen Truth’. Winnie has drifted apart from her father while he has been in prison and she no longer tolerates his manipulative behaviour. His re-appearance in her life via Jake stirs up past pains and she suspects Gekko of sinister intentions. Winnie represents what should be the future of the world’s investment and legacy for the next generation. She believes money would be better invested into providing the world with clean, inexpensive and green energy instead of bankrolled into stocks and shares that may be the next “bubble to burst”. This is an obvious reference to the debate on global warming and climate change policies of world leaders which Oliver Stone has cleverly delivered through the characterisation of Winnie. Mulligan is superb as Winnie, with an intelligent and sensitive portrayal of a young woman trying to make a difference in the world.

The antagonist in the film is Josh Brolin (Men in Black 3, Labor Day), as the predatory piranha Bretton James. Bretton's past deeds have contributed to Gekko's imprisonment and this time, his actions have caused the collapse of banking institution Keller Zabel Investments. Bretton’s dastardly deeds and his double-dipping in the shares market lands him in trouble. Brolin is brilliant as Gekko's former rival and the Gekko-like power broker whose rumours send the stock markets in a frenzy. Brolin is capable of epitomising evil with a glint in one eye and a polysemic smirk.

BARRACUDA BANKERS: Bretton (Josh Brolin) and Jules (Eli Wallach) attempt to force Keller Zabel Investments into insolvency in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

The supporting cast is excellent and includes Frank Langella (Robot and Frank, Muppets Most Wanted) as Louis Zabel, the manager of Keller Zabel Investments–possibly named after Oliver Stone’s father- and looks smart in a bow tie and trouser braces. Louis is a father figure to Jake and mentored him in the business of finance and economics, even paying for Jake's university degree. Langella makes Louis believable as a stalwart who possesses old-school ways of honesty, trust and integrity in financial matters that no longer seem pertinent in the current climate of financial wheeling and dealing.

Susan Sarandon (Robot and Frank, The Calling) shines in her scenes as Jake’s mother, Sylvia, who is a nurse turned real estate agent and experiences the “greed” through sustaining a life beyond her means, and constantly borrows money from her son to prop up her business. She represents the everyday people who are stung by the impact of the global financial crisis when the housing market crashes with many going into foreclosure. Her appearances in the film are few and her lack of visibility may suggest the actual “culprits” of the economic downturn are the “game players” on Wall Street and not the ordinary, low-to-middle income citizens.

Eli Wallach is memorable as the laconic but influential magnate Jules Steinhardt, who is also the mentor of Bretton James. Jules has experienced the devastation of the stock market crash in 1929 and knows the financial markets will not recover without government assistance. Wallach gives Jules an eccentric quality by improvising the character’s lines to include whistles.

Cameo appearances throughout the film add some interest such as Charlie Sheen’s return in one scene as Bud Fox at a charity event and director Oliver Stone in at least three scenes as an investor. Shameless product placement is woven into the narrative when Louis buys a pack of Lay’s potato chips; Jake buys Winnie a Bvlgari   diamond ring; Bretton gives Jake a Ducati motorcycle; Jake presents his Chinese investors with bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch whisky; and Gordon shouts Jake a bottle of Heineken beer.

CORPORATE CHICANERY: Jake (Shia LaBeouf), Bretton (Josh Brolin) and Gordon (Michael Douglas) swap trading tips in the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Image: Twentieth Century Fox.

The film features original songs by former ‘Talking Heads’ frontman and songwriter David Byrne and Brian Eno, former member of the rock band ‘Roxy Music’. Byrne and Eno have previously collaborated together on concert tours and albums and their musical contributions to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps adds ambiance to the mood, tone, drama and emotions in various scenes.

Oliver Stone has applied different editing techniques to this film, even using split screens, fades, iris-in and special effects to create urgency, panic and confusion as the United States’ banking system goes into free-fall. In addition to the visual effects, the film’s fictional story parallels the realistic events of the global financial crisis. The housing market fiasco resulting in foreclosures and evictions, and the government bailout of financial institutions are referenced in the film. However, the film remains a story about people’s lives unravelling as the drama of the global financial crisis unfolds.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps may not spark another sequel but does feature great performances, a fabulous soundtrack and a glimpse into the world of powerbrokers dominating the world of finance on Wall Street. It’s an entertaining, old-fashioned drama with a subtle message that the value of the human spirit is worth more than any amount of money.

Director: Oliver Stone

Writers: Allan Loeb (screenplay), Stephen Schiff (screenplay), Stanley Weiser (characterisation), Oliver Stone (characterisation)

Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, Austin Pendleton, Vanessa Ferlito, John Buffalo Mailer, Natalie Morales, Maria Bartiromo, Sylvia Miles, Richard Green, Laura Dawn, Amber Dixon Brenner, Oliver Stone, Warren Buffett, Charlie Sheen

Producers: Celia Costas, Alex Young, Alessandro Camon, Edward R. Pressman, Eric Kopeloff, Oliver Stone

Cinematographer: Rodrigo Prieto

Original Music Composer: Craig Armstrong

Film Editors: Julie Monroe, David Brenner

Production: Kristi Zea (Production Designer), Paul D. Kelly (Art Direction), Diane Lederman (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Ellen Mirojnick

Running Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes

Brothers (2009); drama film review

Poster artwork for the drama film Brothers.

Sibling Support by Linh

Six-time Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan (In The Name Of The Father, My Left Foot – The Story of Christy Brown) has masterfully re-made a beautiful 2004 Danish film, Brødre, into a emotionally-fraught and watchable American story of a two brothers titled Brothers. It is usually difficult to transfer the subtle and mesmerising allure of a foreign film into an American version, yet Jim Sheridan has successfully taken Brothers to a different level without giving it the formulaic Hollywood treatment.

Brothers follows the lives of two brothers, a dependable and courageous soldier Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and his recently-released-from-prison brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). When Sam is deployed to Afghanistan, he leaves behind his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and two daughters Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare). When Grace receives a message that Sam has been killed in battle, she soon receives the support and companionship of Tommy, whom the daughters quickly accept into the family. While Tommy brings some joy and sunshine into the lives of Sam’s family members, Sam and his friend and colleague Private Joseph Willis (Patrick Flueger) are captured by Taliban fighters and tortured. After Sam is rescued by US soldiers, he returns home as a changed man. His experiences in Afghanistan manifests into obsessive compulsiveness, paranoia and he suspects his wife of committing adultery with his brother.

BROTHERLY: Sam (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) reconcile after Sam returns from Afghanistan in the film Brothers. Image: Lionsgate.

It is a refreshing change to see the talented trio consisting of Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tobey Maguire leaving the big-budget blockbuster Hollywood movies for a while, to appear in an independent film such as Jim Sheridan’s Iraq War drama Brothers.

Jake Gyllenhaal is at his best as the calm and laid-back Tommy Cahill whom his father Hank continues to disapprove of, despite Tommy’s willingness to turn over a new leaf in life after his stint in prison.

Natalie Portman gives a wonderful portrayal of Grace, the young and demure wife of Sam, who must handle the children on her own after hearing of his death, then has to deal with his erratic behaviour when he returns.

Tobey Maguire is brilliant as Sam, whose treatment at the hands of Taliban fighters has left him psychologically-scarred and emotionally unstable.  His once strong and loving relationship with his daughters become fractured and his trust in his wife slowly diminishes.

ASSISTANCE: Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) offers to help Grace (Natalie Portman) babysit her daughters while she deals with Sam's death in the film Brothers. Image: Lionsgate.

Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan for An Education, shines in her few scenes as the wife of Private Joseph Willis; playwright/actor/director Sam Shepard is commanding in his depiction of  Hank Cahill, a war veteran and father of Sam and Tommy; the two daughters Isabelle and Maggie played by Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare are adorably convincing; and comic relief comes courtesy of Ethan Suplee as Sweeney, Arron Shiver playing A.J. and Ray Prewitt as Owen.

Brothers is a gentle family drama that is beautifully filmed, the performances of the leading and supporting cast are excellent and the story-line moves steadily to a cathartic climax. The focus on war’s impact on a family is maintained throughout without the soppy sentimentality of other similar films.

TOGETHER: Grace (Natalie Portman) greets her husband Sam (Tobey Maguire) at the airport with their daughters Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare) following close behind in the film Brothers. Image: Lionsgate.

Director: Jim Sheridan

        

Writers: David Benioff (screenplay), Susanne Bier (Danish film Brødre) and Anders Thomas Jensen (Danish film Brødre)

Cast: Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare, Carey Mulligan, Patrick Flueger, Clifton Collins Jr., Jenny Wade, Ethan Suplee, Arron Shiver, Ray Prewitt, Omid Abtahi, Navid Negahban, Yousuf Azami 

Producers: Jeremiah Samuels, Scott Fischer, Ryan Kavanaugh, Zach Schiff-Abrams, Tucker Tooley, Michael De Luca, Matt Battaglia, Mark Fischer, Sigurjon Sighvatsson

        

Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes

Original Music Composer: Thomas Newman       

        

Film Editor: Jay Cassidy     

Production: Tony fanning (Production Designer), Guy Barnes (Art Director), Wendy Ozols-Barnes (Set Decorator)

Costume Designer: Durinda Wood

        

Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes