Satyriasis – the subject of Steve McQueen’s bold new film – is a term not often heard in mainstream discourses. Nymphomania is the one we most likely know, not least because of its feature as a tool for male filmmakers but because of our prescriptive attitudes towards sexuality. McQueen’s film has the conversation of sex addiction in men, and exhibits the sense of insatiability and loneliness endured by those who cannot slake their passions.

Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is a successful yuppie – he closes the important deals and celebrates with shots of tequila. But behind his accomplishments lies a darker and altogether more destructive lifestyle. Chains of one-night stands, prostitutes and online pornography consume his private life, failing to satisfy him while hollowing out his sense of connection and commitment – something which only his sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), picks him up on.

Seldom do films about sex focus on the painful consequences of addiction so beautifully. Harry Escott’s richly symphonic soundtrack eases us into the film, the strings providing a sense of simultaneous serenity and elevation. McQueen’s rolling shots constantly frame the film in movement, as we journey alongside Brandon through his complex sense of guilt and polymorphous sexuality. This paves the way for McQueen to make the ultimate contrast, from the delicate grace of the film’s aesthetic to the seriousness and tragedy at the core of it.

Fassbender plays an individual so damaged by his desires, every glance he makes becomes intensely absorbing. The relationship his character has with Sissy hints at enough history to assume his private life has always been at odds with social conventions, but not enough for us to judge or alienate him. McQueen toys with this torment which haunts Brandon with such masterful poise, he can be forgiven the occasional over-stylisation or lingering shot. What he presents is a detailed exploration of psychosexual addiction, reeling against the assumptions we make when we discuss the effects of sex in a masculine society.