So much average

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

'Hunger' is a British-Irish Historical Drama about the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. It's a film that's tough to watch, showing prison brutality and conditions at its most absolute rawest, and it visually looks the part (age and grime and all). Being fact-based certainly lends emotions to events depicted which would be absent if it were a fictional account, but the direction here is forgettable. Too many meandering scenes of banal activities waste precious time in a picture that wouldn't make it past the hour mark had liberties not been taken on scene lengths where the camera lingers on something uninteresting for too long. We even get a man sweeping liquid down a corridor for a couple of minutes, when you get the point after 10 seconds. It serves little purpose, and the static camera-work is detriment to the cause. Steve McQueen would repeat this dull filmmaking style with 12 Years a Slave many years later. One impressive scene is when Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham share time together, giving us a 17 minute unbroken shot of a conversation. But that's not down to direction or cinematography, but to the credit of the actors for memorising their lines. Speaking of Fassbender, he undergoes a shocking physical transformation (clue is in the title), displaying his commitment to accurately portray and tell the story of the character. That dedication to his performance in what is really an independent piece of work is commendable, showing early on his potential as a leading man.I'm not trying to undermine the story that is the heart and core of this film, I just believe it could have been filmed much better with less tedium to keep me invested. And for that I give it 6/10.

Although Hunger was Steve McQueen's debut feature film, I watched Shame which was his 2nd film before Hunger. His style looked unique and brutally explicit, but at the same time delicately artistic with the right amount of reticence to challenge the viewer. I was so glad to find the same positive attributes about his directorial work in Hunger too. He is one of the most recent directors whom I can easily call an auteur due to his signature style.Like Shame, Hunger is also at times a very tough film to watch. McQueen leaves absolutely no stone unturned to depict the brutal realism connected with the subject matter. The film on the surface is about the well known IRA member Bobby Sand's revolt and the hunger strike that he declared to force the British Government to grant the demands of the IRA. But to be honest, the film has very little to do with the politics of the matter. McQueen is more concerned with the people caught in the midst of this traumatic stalemate situation. He is concerned with the psychological and of course the physical effect this situation has on these characters. I liked the fact that McQueen effectively remains unbiased and neutral throughout the whole film. This neutrality is accentuated by the fact that he uses the perspective of different people belonging to either side of the tussle in the screenplay. So not only do we get to live these traumatic days from the point of view of Bobby Sands and his fellow prisoners, but also from the point of view of prison guards and riot officers. It is shown that the ones executing the strikes might have had to endure physical pain and torture, but the ones on the other side had to endure psychological torture too as well as the lack of security in public. One of the most admirable features of Hunger is the use of silence in the film. Almost 75% of the scenes are silent or with very little dialogue. McQueen allows the visuals and facial gestures of the actors to convey a lot in many scenes in the film. The makeup of the actors and production design are also meticulous with a lot attention to detail. The prison cells look as realistic and as dirty and grim as possible. The prisoners look equally worn out due to the harsh treatments handed out to them. The makeup is so detailed that even the teeth of the prisoners look worn out and decayed.There is a famous one take conversation scene in the film that goes on for about 15 minutes. The conversation in this scene is almost as serene as a Symphony. It starts out on a light note, then becomes heavy and heated and then ends almost poetically. When a single take scene which continues for such a long while works so well, all you can do is appreciate the acting and the writing that has gone into it. Talking about acting, Michael Fassbender sets the stage on fire with a jaw dropping performance. The film's subject matter and the content being too bold for the consideration of the Academy is the only reason I can think of which can explain why Fassbender didn't get an Oscar nomination for this role. He becomes the character of Bobby Sands through absolutely brutal method acting. He is unbelievably good.Overall I loved the film. The only sort of gripe that I have is with the ending. Although I liked the ending, but I wanted it to be a bit more effective and memorable. But having said that, it is a minor gripe. Hunger is not for everyone, it is disturbing, it is visually explicit and Mcqueen demands patience and attention from the viewer. But if you are prepared for all this, then you are surely going to have a rewarding experience.

A remarkable feature debut from director McQueen. It was only after I had seen, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, that I tracked down this film, and I was not disappointed. McQueen is a thinking persons director, he is not a director that makes every scene so blatantly obvious. You have to work for it and the rewards are rich in pure mental stimulation. What is also rewarding is the performances. Not only is Fassbender outstanding, but the support cast as well. The acting is paramount as it brings realism to the hideous conditions in a world we all fear, that of the Irish Maze Prison during the civil conflict. McQueen does not shy away from the politics that tore a nation apart, nor does he tone down the harrowing violence within the faeces smeared walls. Be patient, and the film will reward you. If you are looking for entertainment, then please go elsewhere. Now time to track down McQueen's 2011 movie, SHAME.

"I have my belief, and in all its simplicity that is the most powerful thing."Steve McQueen's feature debut, Hunger, is a realistic and brutal portrayal of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) activists who are protesting their miserable treatment at the Belfast prison known as The Maze. Hunger is a challenging film to watch due to the brutal and unflinching portrayal of such a dark period in our recent history. If you have a weak stomach then you might want to stay away from this film because it is really gruesome. The way McQueen's camera captures the events and allows the images to tell the story is truly remarkable. We get extreme close ups of characters faces and hands that tell us a lot more than words possibly could. The film doesn't actually center on one character as it begins by following one of the prison guards as he goes off to work, then we are introduced to one of the prisoners who has just arrived at the Maze and is refusing to wear a prison uniform, and finally the film focuses on Bobby Sands a prisoner who is protesting their treatment with a hunger strike. What he is looking for is political prisoner status and despite their efforts they have been refused. The images in Hunger are disturbing but powerful. Of his three films, Hunger is possibly his weakest one, but it is still an extraordinary movie. He has perfected his craft with each upcoming film and is slowly inserting himself among my favorite directors. Steve McQueen and Enda Walsh's brutal screenplay centers on the battle between the IRA imprisoned activists and the British guards that took place in 1981 in the Maze prison of Northern Ireland. It opens with a scene of a prison guard (Stuart Graham) heading for work. His knuckles are full of blisters and before he gets in his car he checks that there are no bombs hidden under it. It's an interesting way in which McQueen portrayed the constant threats and fear of retaliation the guards were under. Once he arrives at the prison we are introduced to Davey (Brian Milligan), a new IRA prisoner who is refusing to wear his uniform and claiming for political status. The guards refuse to listen to him and lock him up with another prisoner named Gerry (Liam McMahon). Their cell is smeared with excrement all over the walls and the conditions are pitiful. It's their way of expressing their resistance towards the brutal treatment they receive from the guards. Their efforts are useless. Halfway through the film we are introduced to another IRA prisoner, Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), who has decided that the best way they can protest is by beginning a hunger strike. In a memorable scene between Sands and a visiting priest (Liam Cunningham) we hear his reasoning for behaving this way.The performances in this film are really amazing, Michael Fassbender especially as he undergoes an incredible physical transformation. I think his work in all 3 films with McQueen are absolutely breathtaking. He is perhaps one of the best actors working today. The scene between him and the priest which is about 17 minutes long is shot entirely on a single take and it really stands out in the movie. In a film that has very little dialogue that long scene worked extremely well and the dialogue was extremely well written. The rest of the cast also deliver a strong performance, but it isn't until Fassbender shows up on screen that the film truly picks up and engages us. Hunger is carefully crafted and McQueen uses every single shot to such an incredible effect that those images speak more than words. Hunger may be disturbing for most audiences, but it is extremely well made and hugely effective.