Shame (2011) on Netflix
Brandon Sullivan is a New York executive who fills his days with sex and hides that life. His sister Sissy, a lounge singer, arrives at his apartment unannounced and asks to stay.
- Netflix3.1/5
- IMDb7.2/10218,843 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes79%
Trailer
Plot summary
Sex with prostitutes, pornography and masturbation, including in his office, fill Brandon Sullivan's days in New York City, and he hides this from the few people close to him. Sex carries no emotional weight for him. His sister Sissy, a lounge singer, has been trying to reach him, and he comes home to find her in his shower. She has a few engagements in the city and asks to stay; he agrees unwillingly, and her outgoing manner unsettles him. David, his married boss, is frank with the men at the office about his own affairs. Sissy, unlike her brother, links sex with emotional attachment.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Shame (2011)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fox Searchlight did not appeal the film's NC-17 rating or make cuts for the less restrictive R rating; Searchlight president Steve Gilula said, "I think NC-17 is a badge of honor, not a scarlet letter."
- McQueen's lead actor in Hunger, Michael Fassbender, was the first and only choice to play the lead role in Shame.
- Casting director Avy Kaufman said of the NC-17 film, "I had so many passes I couldn't even tell you"; McQueen wanted top-quality actors even for tiny parts, such as Brandon's fly-by-night sexual partners.
- Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, called it "courageous and truthful" and wrote "I don't believe I would be able to see it twice"; he later named it the second best film of 2011.
- Shame premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival, where it was selected for the main competition and where Michael Fassbender won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
