Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Director: Sam Taylor- Johnson

It has finally happened - one of the most anticipated and discussed films of 2015 is released. No more teasing with short trailers, no more questions about how this or that toy, scene might look like in the real life. Yes, the unconventional love story between the innocent college student Anastasia and the domineering millionaire Christian is being show on the big screen, and the fact that its premiere was a day before the Valentine's day has already been the source of numerous negative reviews.

It's interesting that according to IMDB statistics, women on average have given higher score than men, though it seemed that the stronger sex should be much more satisfied with quite an amount of erotic scenes. However, the results showed the opposite, and men were the main critics. The main reason for evaluating the newly-released film extremely low was due to the fact that many viewers consider that women degradation is the main idea promoted in "Fifty Shades of Grey", and it also encourages sadomasochistic relationships. I would totally disagree with these claims. Yes, the film does show gender inequality, unhealthy relationships with Christian's predominance and willingness to control everything and everyone, and it does not focus on romance which is the crucial point of any Valentine's day's film. But let's face it, that's all because of the book and E L James's imagination, not because the director or the screen-writer would be out of their minds. If they had made Grey more romantic and less commanding, it wouldn't have been "Fifty Shades of Grey", it would've been a whole different story. Honestly speaking, the film is a much softer version of the novel; the bedroom scenes are dealt with rather delicately and they are not as many as in the book. The cinematographic adaption is likewise much lighter and funnier than the original, and the soundtrack, from my point of you, is superb; the selected songs create the right atmosphere, and I still can't stop listening to some of them. That's about the good things, but now let's turn to the flaws.

Even though I liked the film overall, there were many points that bothered me. First of all, the silly dialogues. I know that most of them were taken straight from the book, but the screen writer could have done something differently because many sounded quite ridiculous and artificial. Second, it seemed that the director was in rush all the time; they didn't really let us get to know the other characters well (Kate's brother was completely left out, Ray didn't get to say much either), and at times, they jumped from one scene to another one too quickly. Third, the actors. Dakota Johnson did pretty good job with embodying Miss Steel and adapting to her characteristics and behaviour, but Jamie. Well, the body was amazing, there's no doubt in that, but his Christian wasn't as powerful and domineering as he should have been, and his American accent wasn't mastered to perfection too.

Other than that, the film was rather exciting to watch, and I can't wait for the sequels; I laughed more than I sometimes laugh when watching a true comedy. I had previously read the book, so I knew what to expect and what the story would be like. I was completely aware of the fact that it's not the typical romantic drama, and I didn't wait for it. It was something different, and I enjoyed it as much as I could. Of course, "Fifty Shades of Grey" could hardly compete with this year's other grands like "The Imitation Game" or "The Theory of Everything", but it's a good example of its represented genre. The fact that my parents liked the film says something too, and for your information, we usually prefer high-quality historical/ modern-life dramas/ comedies ("Midnight in Paris") or fantasy adventure films ("The Hobbit"). Just give it a try, and remember to remain open-minded!