Michael Fassbender is nude, a lot, in Shame. That's the dominant talking point for the NC-17 art-house film, which hits theaters Friday (watch trailer below). But Fassbender's portrayal of Brandon, a sex addict spiraling out of control, is earning buzz for more than just his full-frontal appearance. The actor — on a roll with well-received turns this year in X-Men: First Class, Jane Eyre, and A Dangerous Method — won the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival in September. Indeed, his emotional turn as Brandon is being hailed as "the best performance of the year." Is Fassbender really that good?
This is acting at its finest: Both literally and metaphorically, Fassbender "lays himself bare," says Christy Lemire for the Associated Press. He so uncannily embodies this broken character that you "feel as if you're truly watching a man hell-bent on exorcising his demons through compulsive self-destruction." Director Steve McQueen (Hunger) bravely lingers on Fassbender's chiseled, hard face in unusually long, static shots, illuminating the actor's "riveting, haunting" portrayal even more. Fassbender can "do pretty much anything, and do it with startling masculine grace."
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