COURTESY: MOVIEPOSTERDB.COM
Rating: F
The Daily Mississippian polled students prior to the release of “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
For a film focusing on a young woman’s developing sadomasochistic relationship with a millionaire, director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” is utterly devoid of passion – extracting nothing worthwhile from E.L. James’ bestseller. With wooden performances from the two leads and a screenplay featuring laughably awkward dialogue, “Fifty Shades” is never sexy and ultimately an unsatisfying bore.
As relative newcomers to the silver screen, stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan could have had their breakout moments with “Fifty Shades,” but both actors are disappointments and ultimately fail to carry the film. Johnson as Anastasia Steele and Dornan as Christian Grey are visibly uncomfortable throughout, with every interaction feeling forced and awkward.
Johnson as the wide-eyed, waify and oblivious Anastasia Steele seriously lacks presence. She’s disconnected from the role, never emerging as the layered female lead crucial to the plot. Essentially, she’s boring to the point that the audience never gets emotionally invested in her struggle to accept Grey’s lifestyle.
Dornan’s Christian Grey is probably the worst offender from “Fifty Shades.” For a man whose life revolves around BDSM, Dornan’s lethargic portrayal manages to turn an inherently interesting character into a cartoonish soap opera villain.
From his first scene, it is obvious that Dornan is trying his hardest to be sexy, imposing and intense. The accent he affects and the lower register he speaks throughout invokes an image of a teenage boy trying to sound tough to woo the hottest girl at school. The end result is an unnatural, mechanical performance that can’t even be saved by Dornan’s attractiveness.
But the real issue with “Fifty Shades” is the screenplay.
Given that the source material is something that’s been described as “mommy porn,” the awful writing should come as no surprise. Kelly Marcel, the woman who adapted the eponymous novel for the big screen, had a real opportunity to liven up the characters. She failed miserably.
At times, her dialogue reads like the worst of Tinder. Grey and Steele never say anything remotely sexy or even realistic. In fact, none of the characters are written as real people, just robotically delivered lines dripping with clichés. Everyone in “Fifty Shades” is a caricature and speaks like one, and under Sam Taylor-Johnson’s direction (or lack thereof), the film and everyone in it becomes comically bad.
Nothing about this film works, and this is probably due to the flawed premise in general. The message behind this film is dangerous and offensive – it essentially glamorizes an unhealthy relationship.
Sexual preferences aside, Christian Grey’s character is an abusive stalker. He tries to own Steele completely, even selling her car and getting her a new one without her permission. He isolates her from her friends and family and demands he be the center of her life. Steele’s acceptance of this behavior reflects an alarming message: a man can treat a woman any way he likes as long as he is rich and attractive.
By glorifying Grey’s total control over Steele’s life, E.L. James, Kelly Marcel and Sam Taylor-Johnson are doing a disservice to women everywhere. They are endorsing abusive, harmful relationships in which women are trapped and have no way out.
Honestly, the only decent thing about “Fifty Shades” is the soundtrack. Featuring a variety of sexy-sounding songs from artists like Beyoncé, Sia, Annie Lennox and The Weekend, the soundtrack is legitimately one of the best in years and definitely worth a listen. So, when it comes to “Fifty Shades of Grey,” listen to the music, but only see the movie if you’re willing to waste two hours of your life.
One high school boy in the theatre summed up the movie perfectly when he said, “I’ve seen porn with better dialogue and acting.”
