No film has had so many expectations weighed upon it as 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' has – even before its release.
Based on the series of erotic novels by EL James, 'Fifty Shades...' began life as a sexually-charged reimagining of 'The Twilight Saga'; introducing the concept of BDSM to millions of readers across the globe. Now, the inevitable film adaptation of a commercially successful book series has occurred, and many are left wondering whether the film will breathe a new life into what is essentially trash. I can safely say that, while it is far from an erotic classic like '9½ Weeks', it does manage to generate the same kind of so-bad-it’s-good appeal of cult sexploitation classic 'Showgirls', which led to me enjoying the film more than I thought I would.
'Fifty Shades...' follows Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson), a soon-to-be-college-graduate that has the looks and temperament of a stereotypical librarian. Due to a friend being ill, Anastasia fills in on an interviewing assignment. The subject of said interview is Christian Grey (Jamie Doran), a man whose occupation is unknown, has an office that is run only by young and attractive women, and has the charisma of a cult leader. This doesn’t seem to strike Anastasia as odd due to her being completely under the spell of Mr Grey, exemplified by her excessive lip biting. The attraction is mutual and unexplainable with Christian, who begins pursuing – or stalking, as the behaviour suggests – Anastasia with the intention of beginning a kinky sexual relationship with her, with rules stipulated in a contract that she must sign. However, while enjoying the sensual basis of their relationship, Anastasia wants more from Christian than just being tied up and spanked, while Christian doesn’t do “the whole flowers and chocolates thing”; causing conflicting desires in their relationship.
While the story doesn’t provide much hope for the film, it is the direction of Sam Taylor-Johnson that makes this film adaptation tolerable. Taylor-Johnson presents the film in a very sleek style with dull colours (greys, if you will) that lends much to the coldness of Christian Grey: reminding me much of the scenery and camera work in another film filled with sex, violence, and a sociopathic male lead, 'American Psycho'. Taylor-Johnson’s directing of her lead actors should also be praise, as it injects some much needed warmth and humour into proceedings. Having been given terrible dialogue from the book, Johnson and Doran deliver many lines with a sense of irony at the absurd combination of words they’ve just used – references to love caves and dancing goddesses may have been too much for them, hence their absence.
It is Dakota Johnson who provides the most stellar acting of the two leads; making Anastasia more sarcastic and less a damsel-in-distress. Johnson particularly shines in two scenes: the drunken phone call Anastasia makes to Christian is hilarious; and the negotiation scene shows that she is less submissive than what Christian wants.
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Despite the terrible storyline and 'Twilight' references (male best friend with a crush on the female lead; unexplainable attraction between leads; “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from me”; etc.), I actually enjoyed this film. While not as erotic as much of the publicity has tried to make it, 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' is a solid piece of light entertainment.
Three out of five spanks.
