Considering that even the staidest, most conventional cinematic love scenes make me squirm a little, I faced this one with trepidation. But Steve McQueen's removed any unctuousness likely be associated with this topic , and instead leaves us with an extraordinarily precise yet enigmatic film.

Michael Fassbender’s Brandon is withholding, cold, superficial, awkward, and fascinating. It’s a complex portrait of the American male psyche—a jumble of the laconic cowboy, the glib corporate-cipher, and the hopeless horndog.

Fassbender is a compelling leading man, and honorably odd in his complete unwillingness to endear himself to the camera. It will be interesting to watch this quality unfold throughout his career. Carey Mulligan gives another amazingly assured performance as Sissy, Brandon’s puckish, attachment-disordered wreck of a sister.