Fifty Shades of Grey, 2015.
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle and Marcia Gay Harden.
SYNOPSIS:
When college senior Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) steps in for her sick roommate to interview prominent businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for their campus paper, little does she realize the path her life will take. Christian, as enigmatic as he is rich and powerful, finds himself strangely drawn to Ana, and she to him. Though sexually inexperienced, Ana plunges headlong into an affair — and learns that Christian’s true sexual proclivities push the boundaries of pain and pleasure.
With the books a best-selling phenomenon despite writing that would embarrass a 10-year-old and people arrested in cinemas for getting intimate with themselves, you’d expect Fifty Shades to be some sort of explicit or sordid affair.
It’s not. In fact it’s all rather tame and safe. Maybe I’m a pretty open-minded guy, but I’ve been around the internet a few times and there is nothing here of note. I guess I’m not the audience they’re trying to titillate though.
There isn’t much in the way of story, as we’re quickly introduced to Johnson’s Anastasia Steel (what a name) and her future dominant Christian Grey, played by the pretty but bland Jamie Dornan. He doesn’t cut it, his constantly shifting accent and softer features don’t gel with what I’ve come to expect of the young billionaire. Johnson is OK, providing the window into the world of BDSM. She giggles, questions and occasionally rails against the choices Grey would like to make for her, no doubt matching the views of many in the audience. It is very clear that she was originally based on Bella from Twilight though, the supposed plain beauty getting attention from 3 different men.
On the plus side neither is annoying and the chemistry between them is somewhat apparent. What we don’t have to suffer is the inane dialogue and descriptions from the book, with writer Marcel and director Taylor-Johnson deserving quite a bit of praise to be honest. They’ve taken something what by all accounts should have been excruciating to listen to and made it inoffensive.
I watched Fifty Shades with my wife (who has read the books) and though my own opinion came out as ‘eh, it could have been worse’, was intrigued what hers would be. Funnily enough, hers was very similar to mine. Dornan is too soft and considering the source it’s not bad.
If you’re after an exciting night in this isn’t the film for you. Fifty Shades of Grey could have been a film that challenged preconceptions about our kinkier side and less some sort of wish fulfilment. Ultimately it doesn’t do enough to be sexy or entertaining. It’s just…there.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Chris Cooper is a Flickering Myth Staff Writer, and owner of the blog Super Duper Stuff. Follow him on Twitter @SDCCooper or visit the blog’s Facebook page.
https://youtu.be/CkZX95HzVyg?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published June 23, 2015. Updated November 7, 2019.
