In a heat, in a sulk

Shame

Crit

First off, is it just me, or is that a really big cock?

If Brandon (Michael Fassbender) were a food addict, he'd weigh about 800 pounds; if he were an alcoholic, he'd be a sixpack-for-breakfast guy; if he were a compulsive gambler, . . . well, hold that thought.

As it is, Brandon craves coming. He knows nothing about how to love, and he especially knows nothing about how to love his sister (Carey Mulligan), who is--as his partnership choices and his dysfunctions and his fraught relationship with her make clear--the one person he wants to love in the worst way. What he knows how to do is to fuck, and to wank, and while we see no proof, he gives compelling oral testimony that he knows how to give compelling oral testimony.

It's all hideously joyless, of course. And the climatic compulsively self-destructive sequence reminded me of nothing so much as another filmic portrayal of addiction, The Gambler. No, not the know-when-to-hold-'em-know-when-to-fold-'em Gambler, the 1974 picture starring James Caan. It has been a long time, so I may not have the details exactly right, but according to my recollection of the climactic scene in that one, Caan's character, having gambled and lost everything, gambles all he has left by bursting into a Harlem brothel and shouting racist invective. Brandon's self-immolation is perhaps not as foolproof, but it's just as sad.

One final random note: want to make clear that a character is an asshole? Have him make some remark about "elevator music," then let your audience realize that he's talking about Coltrane.

Trailers

• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen--Two of our prettiest people, Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor, in an inspiring story of faith, hope, and blah blah blah.
• Moonrise Kingdom--Gotta admit, the start of the trailer, with its budding preadolescent romance, made me think "too cutesy." Then they said the magic word: Wes Anderson. Roman Coppola cowrote the screenplay with Anderson, and the cast includes Bill Murray (of course), Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Bruce Willis in what looks like one of those roles he's good at . . . need I go on? A big hell yeah.
• Jeff Who Lives at Home--Looks very, very possible: slacker brother, asshole brother, and a mother who looks like Susan Sarandon. Good cast, written and directed by the Duplass brothers.