Shame is about a female barrister whose motorbike breaks down in possibly the worst small town in Australia. Taking refuge with a family while waiting for spare parts to arrive, a traumatic personal experience and talking to other women in town uncovers a disturbingly sexist culture there. Basically, a large group of young men think they can get away with treating the female population like cattle, with unwanted overtures and lascivious remarks even ending in sexual assault sometimes. Needless to say, our new arrival isn't too happy with this situation and tries to change things... but with some very powerful people against her and a whole system of deniability in full effect, this won't be easy.
If Shame succeeds in one thing, it's giving us possibly the most hateful selection of misanthropic bozos to ever fester together in a single place. Look at these boozed-up losers, hanging around in pubs all day catcalling unwilling women that have more class in their little fingers than the entire worthless lot combined. From the very first second, we can't wait for these pigs to finally get their comeuppance. And when that great moment finally arrives, the emotional catharsis afterwards might fool you into thinking you've watched a good movie.
You haven't. The plot is too cluttered, the baddies too one-note, the acting from at least some of the cast isn't convincing enough. And for a film with such a serious subject matter, that could be a fatal flaw. Thankfully, one of those dodgy performances doesn't come from our lawyer protagonist, who just about holds everything together whilst everything else descends into absolute anarchy. It's probably worth one watch, but there was the potential here to create something truly special. As the title suggests, it's a shame. 5/10
If Shame succeeds in one thing, it's giving us possibly the most hateful selection of misanthropic bozos to ever fester together in a single place. Look at these boozed-up losers, hanging around in pubs all day catcalling unwilling women that have more class in their little fingers than the entire worthless lot combined. From the very first second, we can't wait for these pigs to finally get their comeuppance. And when that great moment finally arrives, the emotional catharsis afterwards might fool you into thinking you've watched a good movie.
You haven't. The plot is too cluttered, the baddies too one-note, the acting from at least some of the cast isn't convincing enough. And for a film with such a serious subject matter, that could be a fatal flaw. Thankfully, one of those dodgy performances doesn't come from our lawyer protagonist, who just about holds everything together whilst everything else descends into absolute anarchy. It's probably worth one watch, but there was the potential here to create something truly special. As the title suggests, it's a shame. 5/10