Fifty Shades of Grey (FILM REVIEW)
Fifty Shades of Grey
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Fetish Flick Fails to Match Intensity of Erotic Best-Seller
Fifty Shades of Grey
marked the remarkable writing debut of TV executive-turned-romance novelist
Erika Mitchell. Publishing under the pen name E.L. James, the British author
has enjoyed unparalleled success, selling over 100 million copies worldwide in
just a few years.
Her erotic thriller chronicles
the kinky relationship of a college coed and a handsome, young billionaire with
a sordid sexual appetite for sadomasochism. Unfortunately, this relatively-tame
screen version, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), teases more than
it titillates, as it devotes plenty of time build up prior to petering out in
terms of delivery.
At the point of
departure, we meet vestal virgin Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) as she’s
about to drive from Vancouver to Seattle to the corporate headquarters of Grey
Enterprises to interview CEO Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan)
for her college newspaper. The English major’s only been allotted ten minutes
with the busy captain of industry slated to deliver the
keynote commencement address at her school’s upcoming graduation.
Upon being
introduced, obviously intimidated Ana awkwardly asks “To what do you owe your
success” and “Are you gay?” before her subject confesses to being a control
freak. Turning the tables,
Christian proceeds to pose probing personal questions to the nervous journalist,
as a palpable sexual tension between the two starts to simmer just beneath the surface.
He
reveals his fondness for a particular fetish, however nothing is consummated for
a long stretch. Instead, the first half of the film is devoted to a frustrating
Kabuki dance where foreplay invariably leads
to coitus interruptus.
In
lieu of the whips, chains and other staples of bondage debauchery, we’re treated
to cautious exchanges during which a whimpering, wide-eyed Ana repeatedly says
how scared she is of Christian while he insists she sign a non-disclosure
agreement allowing him to torture her. Yes, they eventually do get around to entering
his dungeon but, by then, their bland, anticlimactic sessions prove to be a
classic case of too little-too late.
A monochromatic misfire featuring only
one shade: blushing pink.
Fair (1.5 stars)
Rated R for
profanity, violence, sexuality and graphic nudity
Running time: 125 minutes
Distributor: Universal
Pictures
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