Hunger (2008)

In anticipation of Steve McQueen's, Shame being on channel four this week, I rented a copy of his first feature film, Hunger. Both starring the brilliant, Michael Fassbender.

I think it is fair to say I was in no way prepared for the brutal and unrelenting nature of this movie. Hunger (2008) depicts the last few months of radical protester, Bobby Sands life. McQueen doesnt hold back in showing the gritty, harsh reality that came from 'dirty protests' through to Sand's final days during a hunger strike. The film begins as it means to go on, unfolding slowly, very little movement with regard to camera work. This film is beautifully shot (expected given McQueens artist background), each image is meticulously considered. There is minimal dialogue throughout, with the exception of one scene - a 17 and half minute long take of Sands speaking to a priest. McQueen seems to throw typical film making convention out the window, especially with regard to shot type. When you'd usually expect a cut, McQueen lets the camera linger. This builds an air of tension, you're never quite sure where you might be and what might happen next. Right from the outset, this film is borderline unwatchable. We see men dehumanized and emaciated by the torturous conditions of the prison sentences. Brutally beaten by police, living in small cells with walls covered in their own faeces, rotten food and very little light.
Bobby Sands (Micheal Fassbender) appears almost half way through the film. We are given a little context with regard to his story and his reasoning behind the extreme protests during the conversation with the priest. It is from here that we being to view his decline in health as he stubbornly endures the starvation. We see his body wither and weaken. In one scene his doctor is applying cream to his broken, sore, malnourished skin and each shot is so carefully considered that as a viewer I found myself flinching from the pain along with the character.

This movie is a visceral experience, it plays with the senses and evokes emotion. It's finds a beauty in the horrific and challenges the viewer on every level. Fassbender is, of course, wonderful in his role. You can feel the determination of Bobby Sands right through to the end. The raw, brutal and gritty nature of material is almost perfctly presented in Steve McQueens film. The subject matter is difficult and McQueen does a fine job of making that point, even if it is occassionally too slow and narrowly avoids being boring. It is a film that will stay with me for the forseeable future. Yet, despite all of these things, I found the film too relentless and I don't think I will be able to watch it again any time soon.