Hardly

While I

Saw morning harden upon the wall

Unmoved, unknowing

That your great going

Had place that moment and altered all

Excerpt from The Going by Thomas Hardy

shame

No movie in recent memory ripped out my insides and handed it to me on a platter, as did Shame. I will not say more about its visceral impact; there are enough reviews that gush, and enough reviews that dismiss it both. I was struck only by one thing; it received a great critical reception outside of America, but within America it received decidedly mixed reviews; with most film critics out of New York remarking on its failed ambition.

How does the gaze of an outsider inform 'insider' views? Sometimes when a mirror is held too close by an outsider, the 'insiders' cannot see their reality; cannot see their face; can only see a blurred indistinctness. I think this is what happened to Shame. The consumeristic, hyper-sexualized world which is more distinct in America than anywhere else I have ever been, at least to me, is unrecognizable to Americans.

I am sorry that the movie has not sparked the debate about sexualized mores that the director has stated he would have liked it to. I think it was way ahead of its time. Certainly there were a plethora of great movies last year; but this movie felt like it was bloodsport and utterly remarkable.