Kuleshov Effect in Shame

The Kuleshov effect is a method of editing in which two or more images are juxtaposed together and meaning is derived depending on the content of said images. For example, if we see a shot of a man crying and then cut to a shot of a casket, the viewer gets the idea that the man is mourning someone's death. However, if you take the shot of the man crying followed by a shot of someone taking money out of a safe, the viewer gets the idea that the man's money had been stolen. A movie that makes perfect use of the Kuleshov effect is Shame. In it, Michael Fassbender is a sex addict desperately searching for a connection with another human being. In one scene, Fassbender is sitting on a train, and across from him sits an attractive woman around his age. Their glances meet and the two continue to flirtatiously stare at eachother. Then, images of Fassbender crying in an empty apartment and of him sleeping with another woman are shown, followed immediately by him staring at the woman again. This use of the Kuleshov effect shows the viewer that Fassbender is only staring at this woman because of his addiction, and it will end the same way as every other woman he's slept with. When we see him crying alone in the apartment we see his desperation for a human connection, and when we see him sleeping with another woman followed by him staring at the woman on the train, we get the feeling that there is no real connection between him and the women he sleeps with, and it is just a never ending cycle of sex and regret. The scene has no dialogue, yet manages to tell this story all through the power of editing.