Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
FrogGlace
In other words,this film is a surreal ride.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Suman Roberson
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
Averlienb
I hated this movie the first time I saw it. I found it disturbing and pointless. But after seeing Fassbender's other projects, like Frank and Prometheus, I felt like I had to revisit this movie again. And, oh boy, did I find another layer of this movie. Look at it from the perspective of a struggle from an addict, and you'd appreciate this movie a lot. Can you see his frustration? His struggle? The conflicts inside him? It's amazing how an actor (a goofy one, actually) can bring all of these through an acting. And it's amazing that he cared enough to create a movie about sex addiction to make people aware of this.
The Movie Diorama
Wow. This was an outstanding film in both the acting and technical categories. I warn you, this is a heavy film and is 18 rated for a reason. Naked bodies left, right and centre. This is an uneasy story about the nature of need, being desired by other people and actually wanting to matter in life. We follow a middle aged man who lives a precarious yet carefully managed lifestyle. His sister comes along and he is unable to control it. Both of their lives spiral out of control. Brandon's addiction for sex and pleasure becomes unbearable as he does whatever he can to fulfil his requirements. Sissy's love life is unrepairable and she relies on Brandon to try and help her, but he views her as a burden. The consequences are horrifying to watch, this is an extremely powerful drama. We do not hate either of these characters. We may not understand them fully but instead we empathise with them. These are dark moments in their lives and yet the phenomenal portrayals by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan convey a type of depression to an extent. Sex addiction, or any addiction, can and will destroy parts of your life. Social, career, family...all these important elements slowly crumbling away due to something that you just cannot control. The inner torment that Fassbender is able to express was palpable, sheer masterclass in acting. Director Steve McQueen was the standout. This was the very definition of confident filmmaking. So many long takes where the characters just come alive on screen. A 2/3 minute shot of Mulligan singing to then cut to a 2/3 minute shot of Fassbender becoming emotional. A technically perfect tracking shot of Fassbender jogging down a street. A 5 minute take where Fassbender is on a date. I was in awe of McQueen's style, adored every scene. The ending may not have been as hard hitting as I had hoped for, but still poignant nonetheless. A delicate subject matter explored thoroughly and intricately, driven by fantastic performances and perfect directing. Loved it.
The Moviesmobile (adithyapracash)
Steve McQueen, who had previously worked with Michael Fassbender in Hunger, gives us a brutal and dark depiction of addiction. In this case, sex addiction. This movie blew my mind. Not only did it showcase, in my opinion, Fassbender's best performance but also its supporting role by Carey Mulligan which was outstanding. The movie is perfect on all levels especially the haunting and unsettling background score. This is movie is an excellent and underrated masterpiece. I definitely recommend this
Denis Maximinus Salimovic
Straight to the point. Drama of life possible when you stay alone. The movie as a movie is not so great but the story is so hard and so powerful that it's just amazing. I would not rate it that much high but as I am experiencing the same story in my life I can relate so much. Sadly my life is also turning to be similar to Brandon. Still not there of course but on the way. Unbelievable moment to watch this movie...S deeply touched. Who doesn't have this problems he can't understand this movie and would think about it as a sex movie and perversion but it's a life story very hard to tell about and people tend to close out and keep it for themselves. Also if you can't find a life partner your life can also go in this direction.