Fifty Shades of Grey was one of the most highly anticipated blockbusters of the season, and, in my opinion, one of the most disappointing. Fans of the books eagerly awaited the arrival of Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, respectively, to the big screen. Even I was excited by the trailers and the snippets of the soundtrack as they appeared.
The novels have been controversial since their publication due to their glamorization of relationship abuse and inaccurate portrayal of BDSM relationships. Of course, the arrival of the movie meant many of us waiting with one eye eagerly open to watch and the other closed in fear of what kind of Red Room horrors would appear on the screen.
As any good movie fan knows, the way to make a successful film is not to copy the novel word for word in the screenplay. According to some sources, author E.L. James stubbornly insisted throughout the process that the screenplay be as line-to-line close as possible to her novel. When I went to see the movie, I found that was essentially what had happened.
The novel’s words, however exciting in print, fell flat when enacted onscreen. Dornan, although talented, did not have the harsh edge necessary to give the steely edge to everyone’s favorite control freak CEO. Johnson did play her character well, but the actors together did not have the kind of chemistry necessary to portray the relationship onscreen. There was definitely a dullness to the movie, in my opinion, and some of it was just plain weird. Christian Grey sexily bites a piece of toast? I could do without it.
I did approve of the new fire that was given to Ana Steele in the film. Novel-Ana, if asked by Grey to jump, would ask how high. Movie-Ana would give some type of sassy remark in response. Johnson gave Steele a new fire and portrayed a girl with some fight that E.L. James had unsuccessfully attempted to write in the novel. I found myself surprised at my silent rooting for the character in her triumphant, although not frequent enough, sassy-girl moments.
Thankfully, much of the abuse and assault was removed from the film, although some problematic elements definitely remained (for example, when Grey decides it’s perfectly appropriate to stalk Steele and dictate every breath she takes). Still, it should be once again reiterated that the relationship portrayed in Fifty Shades of Grey is anything but healthy. If you or someone you know are in an unhealthy relationship, visit www.thehotline.org or call 1-800-799-7233.
If you plan on seeing this movie, don’t get your hopes up, and please realize that it’s anything but realistic or enviable.
