Steve McQueen’s ‘Shame’ Gets US Trailer & New Clip

(Written for BritScene)

Steve McQueen’s Shame has this week been given a US trailer and a new clip. But it’s not all good news – the controversial sexual drama has also been given the dreaded NC-17 rating because of the extreme amount of male nudity and “shocking” sex scenes.

Shame stars Michael Fassbender (X Men: First Class) as a lonely sex-addict in New York whose ordered lifestyle of one-night stands spirals out of control when his younger sister, played by Carey Mulligan (Drive), moves into his apartment indefinitely.

British director McQueen made it clear that he embraced the NC-17 rating when he made his deal for Fox Searchlight to release Shame, which the film has officially been given this week.

“We accepted the fact we would release Shame as is. The truth is, NC-17 is a legitimate rating that tells people it’s not a movie for kids under 18. We’re fine with that,” says President of Fox Searchlight, Steve Gilula. “The subject matter of Shame is sexual addiction, and it can only be told in this way.”

The film is McQueen’s follow-up to Hunger, which he also worked with Fassbender in, so we know to expect a lot from this. Of course, we probably won’t see as much of Fassbender as is expected from the rating and the sex scenes are undoubtedly a little overrated, but we know that McQueen can deliver an excellent piece of filmmaking, and the clip below shows us just that.

Shame is set to be released on 2nd December. You can read more about the film and watch the UK trailer here, see the US trailer below and watch the new clip here.