Fifty Shades of Grey. Review
Succumbing to the global Valentine’s Day hysteria, I spent the holiday in the cinema watching the much-talked-about adaptation of British author E.L. James’ equally talked-about book, Fifty Shades of Grey. What makes a rather mediocre book so talked-about, and why its author is considered a writer, I still don’t understand—but I was curious to see what could be made out of ‘nothing.’
Strangely enough, I didn’t regret the time spent. Yes, the film undoubtedly falls into the category of ‘sappy romance.’ There were plenty of ‘sappy’ moments stretched across the screen and through the runtime. He, played by the young Irish actor Jamie Dornan, is young, rich, and handsome. She, played by the equally young Dakota Johnson, is young, not rich, but beautiful and unusual. They meet by chance, but immediately captivate each other’s hearts. He pursues her, intrigues her; she flees, but not too far, also intriguing him. They grow closer and closer, but then—alas—they discover that He cannot imagine sex without sadomasochism, and She cannot imagine life without it. They dive into the depths of harsh sexual experiments, or rather, He never really left them, while She is willing to take a dip but isn’t sure she’s ready to drown. And so begins a ‘tug-of-war.’ He pulls her toward the side of Evil—‘sign this contract outlining exactly how you will submit to me, how many times and with what I will whip and bind you, what safe words to use so the games don’t end in injuries or death’—while She tries to sway him toward Good—‘why can’t we just sleep together, go to the movies like normal couples, hold hands, and kiss?’…
—Who will win? —you ask.
—You won’t find out from the film. The book has three parts, and only the first has been adapted so far, the author replies in the voice of Mephistopheles.
But enough irony and intrigue. The film has several undeniable strengths. The first and foremost is beauty. Dakota Johnson is beautiful. She possesses that natural, European beauty so rarely seen in modern Hollywood. She reminded me of a mix between a young Sophie Marceau and Charlotte Gainsbourg. The actor is handsome, and he’s also quite a good performer—not just in this film. I first saw Jamie Dornan in the British-American series The Fall, where he convincingly played the main villain. The cinematography is beautiful. The landscapes, the interiors—everything is stunning. Even the BDSM sex scenes are shot beautifully, though in reality, there’s nothing beautiful about them. The music is beautiful too. Well-known global hits in fresh arrangements set the mood and perfectly complement the visuals.
The second strength is its fairy-tale quality. Though many might consider this a ‘minus.’ The entire story, both in the book and on screen, is a fairy tale from start to finish. It reminded me most of Beauty and the Beast or The Scarlet Flower, if we’re talking about native folklore. In real life, things like this don’t happen: young handsome men are rarely rich, young handsome rich men rarely meet ‘plain Janes,’ dominants aren’t noble knights, controlling psychopaths aren’t romantic, BDSM sex isn’t pleasant or beautiful, and vices aren’t healed by love, etc. But we don’t always need reality—we live in it every day. For those craving realism, depth of emotion, and reflection, there’s European cinema.
But on Valentine’s Day, one craves a fairy tale, and Fifty Shades of Grey generously and beautifully delivers it.
Elena Shpundra
