Shame (2011)
In New York City, Brandon's carefully cultivated private life - which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction - is disrupted when his sister Sissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.
I'd been very much looking forward to seeing this, as you can probably guess. Carey Mulligan was troubled but beautiful, Michael Fassbender was at times vulgar but still gorgeous, and they are both fabulous actors. But oh my word, this film was a snore. Perhaps I'm growing out of my affection for moody films in which not-a-whole-lot-takes place. Perhaps I watched it on a less-than-ideal day. But I won't be giving it another go.
Fish Tank (2009)
Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.
Admittedly, again Fassbender was babein' (perhaps his best, besides as Archie Hicox in Inglourious), but I loved the film itself. I thought the girl who played Mia was brilliant, although I'm not sure how much of a stretch from real life the role was for her (I Facebook stalked). This film reminded me a lot of All or Nothing, but with far more attractive actors (although thinking about it I probably don't watch many films set in English housing estates and that's probably the only shared theme). I'm clearly no film reviewer, and I really don't know how the pros write so much without giving away film plots. To be clear - I loved this film, but overall it is not a light nor cheery plot. But you should watch it, and I definitely will be again.
Hunger (2008)
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Like Shame, this was directed by Steve McQueen, but I appreciated this offering a heck of a lot more. Fassbender's scary weight loss and an amazing single shot of over 15 minutes of dialogue are two well publicised reasons why you should see this film. It's intense and brutal, and especially disturbing to an ignoramus like myself who only did some Googling to learn about the conflict and hunger strikes after watching it. I definitely recommend it, though probably won't be in a great hurry for a second viewing myself - too unsettling.
1 comments:
I tweeted you a picture of Michael Fassbender haha.
I loved Fish Tank, but it is hard-going. The girl who played Mia was casted after a casting lady saw her having an argument with her boyfriend at a train station.
I think I'm going off moody films too. I bought "Melancholia" and it is a snooze-fest. I actually did fall asleep during the last 20 minutes.
I'll put Hunger on my list- I keep watching the trailer but haven't bitten the bullet and watched it. x
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