Ah, the much anticipated movie adaption of E. L. James’ best-selling novel is finally in theaters! Didn’t it kind of feel like the build-up to anastasia finally losing her virginity and getting it on with Mr. Grey? Well, it certainly did to the two 24-year olds sitting seguinte to me in the screening. They really could not contain their excitement. But for the rest of us? Well, I was just really curious. I am not an avid fã of the book but the trailers caught my eye enough that I knew I was going to have to see it at some point.

Do we really care about the bare-bones plot? Our heroine anastasia “Ana” Steele (a sufficiently mousey but not enough to really fool anyone Dakota Johnson) steps in for her flu-ridden roommate/best friend to interview the mysterious Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan, whom I mainly know as the Huntsman from televisão series Once Upon a Time). He immediately develops an interest in her and before you know it, she is being whisked away on dates in a helicopter and being asked to sign a contract agreeing to be the “Submissive” to his “Dominant.” Yes, that’s where the fun gets started as we, and Ana, are introduced to Mr. Grey’s “Red Room of Pain” and his very “singular” sexual tastes. But let’s face it; his obsession with her is only not as creepy as it could have been because he’s a young, stoic, good-looking, successful and piano-playing gazillionaire.

Onto the juicy stuff - I admit I was quite curious to see how the sex would be portrayed on the big screen without feeling like pornography and honestly, I think Taylor-Johnson was successful in toeing that line. You get to see a lot of typical Hollywood smooth, blemish-free, toned nakedness and also a lot of semi-sex scenes. Semi in the sense that there is a lot of editing and “leaving to the viewer’s imagination” what you don’t see. And most importantly you get to see some of those toys in action (rope, handcuffs, horse crops?!). Perhaps it doesn’t quite live up to your imagination as you were leitura the book but I wasn’t disappointed. I would personally prefer scenes in my life to play out like a nicely edited, high production value movie scene. Enough to feel intrigued but not enough to tip over into voyeurism.

Though of course if I were Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson (parents of Dakota), I would definitely NOT go see this movie.

Putting aside any social commentary on the misogynistic elements of the movie, I am not ashamed to say I entertained and enjoyed those 125 minutes. The movie just felt very nicely polished and packaged with a shiny glossy sheen. Not surprising considering prior to taking up filmmaking, Taylor-Johnson was a fine art photographer. If anything, these days a lot of the best selling books converted to filmes are relying on looking really slick if not providing much mais substance in terms of story and acting.

Speaking of acting, what a waste of Marcia Gay Harden and Jennifer Ehle. Dakota, these are the roles you have to look progressivo, para a frente to in 20 years!

As for the two leads, the chemistry was okay and in general, the characters felt rather bland. The interaction between the two definitely caused some laughter amongst the audience (I confess, I may have giggled mais than others). Some scenes were intentionally funny and some were not. But I don’t think I can entirely blame the atuação for the extreme awkwardness of certain scenes because they felt that cringe-inducing when leitura the book too. It didn’t help that I got preoccupied with Jamie Dornan’s over-enunciation of his dialogue. Perhaps it added to the serious mien of Mr. Grey but it really just convinced me he was having a difficult time with his American accent.

Recommendation: if you’re a fã of the book, you’ve probably already gone to see it on opening day. If you’re a straight woman and you’ve read the book but felt “meh” about it, you may still enjoy it for the pure escapism.