Man of the Moment: Michael Fassbender

Shame (2011)

Directed by Steve McQueen

Michael Fassbender proved to be one of the many excellent reasons to watch Hunger and in Shame, he is once again one of the best reasons to watch it thanks to his riveting performance! Shame sees the British filmmaker reunite with the Irish actor to tell the intriguing story of Brandon, a man living in New York who is unable to manage his myriad sexual escapades. After his self-destructive younger sister moves into his apartment, his entire world starts to spiral out of control. Steve McQueen's follow up feature has been written by himself and Abi Morgan, one of the most consistently excellent writers on TV, so it's no wonder the drama has been hailed as the 'best kind of adult movie' by critics. The film made its world premiere in Venice (with Fassbender at the festival for A Dangerous Method too!) as well as making its North American premiere at the ever selective Telluride Film Festival where it continued to wow the crowds, with McQueen's mesmerising direction and Fasbender's searing performance taking the spotlight. Many were saying that Fassbender's performance was more than Oscar worthy but what with all the full-frontal nudity, masturbation and general controversy, he ended up being the unfortunate sixth man on the Academy's list.