Steve McQueen

CHICAGO – We’re never going to get the films we deserve from adult filmmakers if the NC-17 continues to operate under the stigma that it does. “Shame” was a perfect film to warrant an NC-17 and yet the rating became the story instead of the film itself, to the point that critics and awards voters didn’t give this excellent work the credit it deserves. When viewers catch up with it over the next few years, they’ll be stunned that the film earned zero Oscar nominations. What Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan do here is nothing short of stunning.

CHICAGO – Steve McQueen’s “Shame” is a daring examination of isolation and addiction with the best performance of the year courtesy of Michael Fassbender and one that nearly matches it from the always-stellar Carey Mulligan.

CHICAGO – Writer/director Steve McQueen and actor Michael Fassbender have the kind of interview dynamic that only comes with two people who know each other very well. They broke through with the same film, 2008’s “Hunger,” a masterpiece of human drama.

CHICAGO – After snagging the Best Actor prize at the 68th Venice Film Festival, Michael Fassbender’s acclaimed performance in Steve McQueen’s drama, “Shame,” will be able to premiere on American screens in the near future. On Sept. 9, Fox Searchlight Pictures presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced that their studio had acquired U.S. rights to the film, while HanWay Films will handle international sales.

CHICAGO – On the stadium set of “Breaking Away,” during the 1978 filming of the climatic bike race sequence, an extra ran up to director Peter Yates and handed him a cold beer. The filmmaker raised it high, and lustily took a drink.

CHICAGO – Here’s an art house film more visceral and unsettling than any run-of-the-mill mainstream bloodbath. It’s the feature debut of visual artist Steve McQueen, an unfortunate name for anyone who doesn’t happen to be the star of “Bullitt.” His previous work has been confined to art galleries, and there are countless shots in “Hunger” that could function as standalone artworks.