50 Shades of Grey: Inner Goddesses Rejoice
As if my addiction to Sex and the City weren’t enough, in my freshman year I sat down to read the 50 Shades trilogy, cementing the fact that I am, at heart, a housewife approaching menopause. And so I devoured the 1,500+ page series, rolling my eyes incessantly. Ana as a character was complete garbage. Her ongoing inner monologue with her dancing inner goddess and her snarky subconscious constantly fighting was painful and frankly may imply schizophrenia. What you hear is true; the books are so poorly written, it’s like an insult to writers everywhere. However, I knew what I was signing up for, poorly written mom porn, and I got it. I knew movies were the next step for the franchise… it would be a poor marketing decision to not. However, I had no idea what it would be like.
When the first trailer was released, I have to say, I was rather surprised. It seemed really well done. I thought that if they could get rid of the horrible dialogue, monologue, and overall writing, the movie could be passable. If it was visually well done and tastefully handled, we may have a good movie. And due to the fact Beyoncé was singing, we already knew the soundtrack was going be excellent. Here’s the trailer:
It certainly looked visually stunning, one shot is particular stuck out:
I was admittedly excited and visually, the movie delivered. It looked rich and decadent, Christian’s office and apartment looking sleek and powerful with a lot of black, gray, and white. The director also utilized scenery in a pretty effective way, the picture above being an example. The Seattle skyline provided a beautiful and elegant backdrop for a large portion of the movie and even the rare scenes in nature were accompanied by beautiful scenery.
One thing that definitely stood out throughout the movie was the lighting. This movie’s lighting is absolutely incredible. My eyes were seduced by a warm orange glow lighting the character’s skin during a sultry discussion over the contract of their relationship. The light in the “Red Room of Pain” made the dark red leather shine, making the experience of seeing the room for the first time intense and exciting.
To the director’s credit, the sex scenes were handled rather tastefully… well, as tastefully as they could. This is due in part to the absence of Ana’s inner monologue, sparing us the grimy details. Also, they canned some of the more cringe worthy encounters and I must say, I have never before been so glad that a movie was NOT loyal to the book. If I was forced to endure seeing some of the horrible things I read, this movie would’ve been straight up porn. Make no mistake, this movie is racy. However, it is in no way to be considered pornography. I really wasn’t shocked by anything in this film. That’s not to say you should watch it on family movie night. This movie is absolutely not for children or the faint of heart… but it isn’t as offensive as it could have been. They’ve toned it down for the mainstream audience but kept enough to satisfy fans of the book.
There is no question that the direction is beyond competent.
I was very worried about the writing in this film. Not including a voice over of Ana’s inner monologue was probably the film’s best decision. However, the dialogue was still at risk of being every bit as terrible as it was in the book… however, the movie handled it well. Contrary to what the trailer makes you believe, the movie never really takes itself too seriously. Unlike the book, the film acknowledges the ridiculous nature of their relationship, allowing the dialogue to be more tongue in cheek and the experience to be a whole lot more enjoyable. In fact, the scene where the two negotiate their relationship in the form of a contract, talking about what is considered a hard and soft limit, is absolutely hilarious. I’d say it competes with the first use of the Red Room, which was also pretty awesome (a sensual version of Crazy in Love by Beyoncé playing in the background, what’s not to love?!... oh yea… the whips and abuse), for the best scene. That’s not to say I didn’t wince at some of the stupid things these people say to each other. When the film takes itself serious, it is disastrous. But a little train wreck was to be expected due to its source material.
As far as acting, I was pleasantly surprised. Dakota Johnson, who plays Ana, did not make a good first impression on me in the trailer. I felt that the horrible and idiotic character from the book would be simply put on screen. Boy was I wrong. Dakota Johnson seems to do the impossible, make Anastasia Steele a tolerable character. In fact, I enjoyed her. She was actually quite funny and secretly amazingly beautiful. She may not ever outgrow this role, but she plays it pretty well and I’d love to see her in other films. Jamie Doran is not as good. His character is cold but he doesn’t convey any sort of warmth or really contribute much to the chemistry other than a body.
Now comes a rather odd suggestion on my part. I think this movie needs to be enjoyed in a group setting. If I were to have watched it alone, the dialogue may have felt more serious and the eye-rolling factor would have been greatly increased. I went with a group of friends who I am very comfortable with and we had a great time laughing together. Not to mention the guy behind us who, at the film’s climax, said, “This is some bulls**t!” We laughed for minutes. You need someone to reflect back the ridiculous nature of this film and I think, contrary to what many may feel, it is better enjoyed in a group.
Is it an excellent film? Not really. In fact, it is being called boring by many. But one cannot deny that it is infinitely better than the book. Is it for everyone? Absolutely not. But if you need to feed your inner goddess so she can do back flips and dance in circles, this is the film for you. Just leave your snarky subconscious at home.
50 Shades of Grey is rated R for strong sexual content including dialouge, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language
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Tags: romance, r, 50 shades, fifty shades, 50 shades of grey, fifty shades of grey
