15 Awesome Films Since 2000 You'll Never Watch Again

Plot:

A stripped-down drama about sex addiction set in New York, with Michael Fassbender starring as protagonist Brandon and Carey Mulligan co-starring as his troubled sister.

Why It's Awesome:

It's one of the most powerful and well-judged depictions of addiction in recent memory with Oscar-worthy performances and great direction from Steve McQueen.

Why You'll Never Watch It Again:

It's a Steve McQueen film. He's a great filmmaker but his films aren't upbeat in any form and he's a master of films that can only be watched once.

Shame, like many British films, is exceptionally miserable. The film doesn't have much story and is more of a slow mood-piece which just observes the events unfolding, so that already makes it more suited to a single viewing, but the film's downbeat look at sex addiction is what really makes it impossible to watch again.

This shows how addiction can destroy someone's life and where many more commercial addiction dramas offer the characters a way out and some sort of solution to their problems, this one does nothing of the sort.

The ending sees the sister attempt suicide and Brandon collapse, sobbing, in the rain; it's a devastatingly bleak conclusion that confirms Shame as one of the most depressing movies of the decade.