Ah. Summer holidays are the ultimate time of year to indulge oneself in TV and films galore.
And if you’re a film geek or a general lover of movies like me, you might be familiar with the increasingly famous name “Fassbender”. Indeed, over the last week, in the midst of researching for my Extended Essay and studying for the SATs, I’ve been focusing on films with one specific quality: the Oscar-worthy acting of Michael Fassbender.
So far, these are the Fassbender movies I’ve watched: Prometheus, Shame, Fish Tank, and Hunger. Here are my thoughts on the movies (oldest to most recent):
HUNGER (2008) – Director: Steve McQueen (Directorial Debut)
Rating: 4/5
Concerning itself with the Irish Hunger Strike in 1981, regarding political and cultural turmoil, Steve McQueen revealed a near cinematic master-piece in his first feature film. (The first film that I watched of McQueen’s was actually Shame, and it required a bit of getting-used-to.) His style is very literal, taking each moment as realistically and patiently as possible, so as to emphasize the subtleties that make the puzzle pieces of the entire story.
In Hunger, Fassbender plays Bobby Sands (Provisional IRA member), who eventually dies of the Hunger Strike he organized. He’s first introduced about 30 minutes into the film, after the audience is familiarized with the brutal and dehumanizing conditions of the Prison. This story is one that requires attention, for it is the epitome of the human condition, and what determination is all about.
As it was Fassbender’s breakthrough film, he had to lose a lot of pounds (not sure of the exact amount) just for the role. If you watch the movie, the ending, with him lying on the bed as thin as a stick, is heart-breaking.
I was very much impressed with his acting (obviously). Many interviewers asked him “why go through all the physical extremes just for a movie”, and I believe his answer was usually about how he placed a lot of trust in McQueen the first time he talked to him.
In particular, I found the main dialogue scene between Bobby and the Priest the most visceral and defining scene of the film (and one of the only dialogues as a whole):
My one criticism of the film, as a first-time viewer, is the lack of historical context. Before watching the film, I knew absolutely nothing about Bobby Sands, the Irish Hunger Strike, nor the Political situation in Ireland at the time. I don’t think the film was able to reach out to everyone, simply because there wasn’t any foundation that the audience could place the bigger picture in. Why was Bobby Sands doing what he was doing? What happened or what did he do before he went to prison? Why did he go to prison in the first place? How can we really understand Bobby’s cause and his determination if we don’t fully understand his reasoning? I think if the film started out with answering some of those questions, we, as the audience could have had an easier time understanding just what Bobby Sands was trying to do and why. Eventually, I did have to do my own research on the issue. But it would have been nice to have had some background information in the movie itself.
Nevertheless, I found Hunger to be very impactful and hard-hitting, but only after understanding what was historically and politically going on. McQueen is quite the mastermind when it comes to relaying a message without many words. On the surface, it may seem simple, but after watching the film several times, I’m sure one can pick up the nuances and little things that make it for what it is: a complex, detailed, and emotional journey.
FISH TANK (2009) – Academy award-winning Director: Andrea Arnold
Rating: 4/5 (It’s pretty on-par with Hunger.)
Winning the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, there’s no doubt that Fish Tank is worth watching.
This one had an incredible performance by Katie Jarvis, who had no previous experience in acting or theatre, and of course, Michael Fassbender (again).
In a nutshell, the film is about Mia (played by Katie Jarvis) who is a daughter and sister in a dysfunctional and low-income family, with a very young single mother (who seems to hate her offspring throughout the whole movie). Michael Fassbender plays the man who eventually has a relationship with Mia’s mother. But I’ll leave it at that – because it gets a much more heated!
I really enjoyed watching this movie. Arnold really took advantage of nearly every scene in this film – from the metaphorical scenes with the horse, to the tense yet comical kitchen scenes in the Essex rusty apartment. I found Mia’s character to be intriguing and very well developed; an easy character to sympathize with at times.
Michael Fassbender’s character, Conner, on the other hand, plays a completely different set of cards. Fassbender actually never received a script from Arnold for this film. He had to use his intuition and act along each scene, which I think definitely paid off at the end in his performance. He plays a likeable character that comes to surprise both the audience and characters. (I don’t want to reveal too much here, so I won’t anymore.)
I don’t really have any criticisms about the film, except that I felt some gaps in the relationship between Mia and the Trailer boy. But I suppose that was left open so the ending could be carried out smoother, and also for the development with Fassbender’s character.
Overall, I found the film to be truly captivating, intimate, and powerful.
SHAME (2011) – Director: Steve McQueen
Rating: 4.5/5
Another wonderful and deeply moving film by McQueen, this one had copious amounts of sex and nudity. Though that’s another part of this review, if one is to watch this film, comfort with nudity might be pretty useful.
So why all the nudity and sex? Well, if you don’t know already, the movie is all about sex. More specifically, it’s about a man’s degenerative and self-destructive addiction to sex (which is an actual thing, in case we have any cynics here).
Set in the melancholy, grey, and condo-filled streets of New York, Fassbender plays a reserved, successful, and handsome “Brandon Sullivan”. With Porn filled to the rim on his Office hard drive, and a sister (played by the charming Carey Mulligan) whose arrival is burdensome, Michael’s suffering due to sex addiction is quite visible and in-your-face in this film.
I particularly liked the relationship between Brandon and his sister in this film. Like he mentioned in an interview, Brandon’s suffering is implicit; it’s as if he’s imploding. By contrast, Sissy’s struggles with her social and personal life is explicit, characterized by ‘explosions’, which eventually burst in Brandon’s face one day as she surprises him, naked in his bath tub. Their dysfunctional relationship makes for a few interesting scenes, especially the one where Brandon finally reveals his true feelings towards his sister. Thus, there are really two interconnected but distinct story lines; one of the relationship with his sister, and the other with his struggling sex-ridden conscience.
Once again, McQueen employs his literal and exquisite filmmaking style. The background story between Brandon (Fassbender’s character) and Sissy (Carey Mulligan) is left open-ended, and the audience is left wondering just what made them so insufferable towards each other.
The film is well done, and takes us through a step-by-step emotional and visual journey through Brandon’s life. I think Fassbender’s character was given a lot of moments to really display all the conflicting aspects of Brandon’s life. The little moments, like when Brandon was slowly kneeling down while his sister was “getting it on” with his boss, were crucial to understanding Brandon’s condition. And as usual, Fassbender gave it his best. Sadly, as many may already be aware of, he was snubbed of an Oscar. What a Shame (see what I did there?). I genuinely think he was sensational in this movie.
This was a really great scene, and with absolutely no words:
And now, on to the nudity. So this is known as the ‘penis’ movie to some people, simply because of Fassbender’s ‘nether regions’ being shown… a lot. But to all those critics, I would say two things: “so what?”, and “it’s a movie about sex”. People have become quite accustomed to watching naked women in movies, so what’s wrong with naked men? It’s a movie with nude human beings, let’s move on to the more serious and important stuff. Secondly, considering the movie is, after all, about the internal battle between a man’s addiction to sex and his reasoning mind, doesn’t the nudity and sex make logical sense? We don’t have films about superheroes without action and violence, so we shouldn’t have films about sex without the nudity, no matter how explicit it has to be.
Overall: well filmed, great characters, fantastic acting, and an intimate and emotional masterpiece as a result. Shame kept reverberating in my mind long after I’d watched it. What more can I ask for in a film?
Prometheus (2012) – Director: Sir Ridley Scott
Rating: 2.5/5
Ridley Scott + Science Fiction = genius right? Well, I didn’t think it was amazing (especially compared to Alien). I don’t have time to go in depth, but I will say I liked the acting, philosophical themes, and the cinematography (which was probably one of the best parts) – pretty entertaining in general. However, I do have some criticisms. I found that I was asking more questions than I was answering, which didn’t turn out to be the most enjoyable for me. I also had a problem with the Dr. Shaw, who I feel didn’t display the caliber brilliantly performed by Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in the original. Could have been better – should have been better. But I’m hopeful for the sequel (will there be one?).
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So that’s what I’ve been up to this past week. And I’ll be really honest right now: half the reason I watched these particular movies was because of the one and only Fassbender. (Proceed the googly eyes and guy-crazy giggling.) I don’t think I would have watched Hunger, Prometheus, or Fish Tank (Shame is an exception – I’d been meaning to watch it), were it not for the brilliant acting and dashingly good, out-of-this-world, looks of Michael Fassbender. If there existed a “David” that I could buy off eBay, I would either buy it in a heart-beat or otherwise ask my parents to buy him for Christmas + my birthday combined.
So here’s to unbelievably talented acting, eye-opening and Oscar-worthy-but-not-nominated films, and Fassbender’s [sadly-aging] good looks!
Okay, maybe one more photo of him: *sighs*
That, my friends, is Fassbender Frenzy.
Artistic Peregrination 