fifty shades of grey
2015 review number 23:
Fifty Shades of Grey: (Drama): 46 out of 100: Based on the 2011 novel by E.L. James, this erotic romantic drama will have fans of the novel racing to the cinema in droves. For those who are not enamoured with the novel, you will be wondering what all the fuss is about. If you have read the novel, you will be making comparisons between the novel and the film. Having not read the novel, I can only give you an opinion of what I experienced while seeing the film.
It all starts off with Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) interviewing young business magnate Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan). Anastasia or Ana as she is more commonly known, is a senior literature student attending university in Washington. She is interviewing Grey for her student newspaper and is instantly attracted to him. He also becomes equally smitten with her. She wants a more traditional type of relationship involving love and romance while he prefers bondage, discipline and sadomasochism. The plot explores the difficulty in making their relationship work so that both are satisfied with their needs.
From what I have read about the movie, a fair bit of the dialogue has been extracted from the novel itself. Some of the lines are unintentionally funny. An example of this occurs when Ana asks Christian if he will make love to her and he replies, "I don't make love. I fuck hard." I must admit that I was giggling throughout some of these scenes and wondering how people could be attracted to this type of talk. It's pure soap opera, just a whole lot naughtier and more risque. The way it has been directed also shows signs of a soap opera with close-ups of the characters and less than subtle camera focusing on body gestures and actions.
Dakota Johnson, the daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, is quite good as the confused virginal student who just wants to be loved by her knight in shining armour. On the other hand, Jamie Dornan has all the personality and charisma of a dead fish. At least he has a muscular body to please the female audience although if you would like nudity from him, you will be very disappointed as you only see his butt a couple of times. Johnson's nudity is far more significant than Dornan's, proving that she is not afraid to reveal her body like her mother did back in the 1970s and 1980s.
If you are after graphic sex scenes, you will not be very happy at all. Yes, there are the bondage scenes that made the novel famous but there's probably more sex scenes to see in a movie like "Basic Instinct" from 1992. The talk between the two main characters is probably more explicit than the sex scenes. After a while, all the pain and anguish experienced by these characters become a tad tedious and the two hour plus running time gradually becomes noticeable.
There are some excellent scenic views of Seattle, Washington and the flashiness of Grey's lifestyle is beautifully demonstrated in his clothes, cars and living arrangements. If you get bored with the dialogue, you can simply gaze at the set decorations. Just be aware though that there is a fair bit of product placement throughout the film.
"Fifty Shades of Grey" ends rather abruptly which shows that there will be a sequel. The trilogy of books confirms that if it is a box office success, the sequel will be just around the corner. My interest has not been raised enough to read the first novel, let alone the whole series.
Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle and Marcia Gay Harden
(126 minutes)
Parental advice: Nudity, sex scenes, sexual references and coarse language
Additional scene during or after credits: No
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfZWFDs0LxA (Movie trailer)
(Reviewed on Thursday 12th February, 2015)
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