Fifty Shades Darker (2017)

Director: James Foley

How would you describe your perfect romantic film? Is it a heart-breaking love story like "A Walk to Remember", classic coming-of-age films with attempts of finding your true self through love ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower"), or a series of passionate outbursts that never lead to anything permanent as shown in "Head in the Clouds"? The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has probably shifted your expectations, and now plain, cliche type of relationship is not enough. There's gotta be something spicy as well.

When the first film adaption came out back in 2015, even the strongest critics and opppnents couldn't resist the temptation of seeing it on the big screen. The open sex scenes rose many eyebrows and made some of the spectators regard this as the first pornographic film you can watch at the cinema and something totally inappropriate.

 Let's be honest, everyone was well familiar with the story before the film came out. Even if you hadn't read the book, you had definitely heard some things about it and were well aware of what you're signing for. I bet many people could agree with me that the film was actually a little softer and less S&M than the novel itself. We can apply the same rules to the newest release of the trilogy - "Fifty Shades Darker".

As the title suggests, this part is mainly about secrets, dark corners of the past; however, the film fails to provide the spectators with more context and build a strong link between the present actions and past experiences. Starting from the first minutes, it seems like the director is rushing somewhere without giving additional details. Ana is trying to pursue an independant life when she suddenly meets Grey at her friend's exhibition (what a surprise, right?). After a minute of resistant talks about why they can't be together again, Ana ends up kissing and having sex with Grey (of course, they couldn't wait at least a couple of minutes. I don't recall Ana being that weak in the book, pardon if I'm wrong). And that's how all the film is structured - 10 minutes of some serious stuff, sex scene, 10 minutes of kind of meaningful conversations, sex scene (me and my friend, we actually counted the frequency, and it was more or less throughout the whole piece).

Although the crew really tried to create a logical storyline this time, I didn't really believe them. There's so much contradiction in Ann's character, and I don't think that's the books fault. At first she wants to help Grey, then she asks him to play dirty games. Get your stuff together, woman! The same goes with Grey. Initially, he doesn't want anyone to touch him but few moments later he's ready to clear the boundaries. That's the biggest issue I'm talking about - a lack of context and depth. If you haven't read the book and don't know the real thing, it really feels like everything is happening in such a rush, in an unrealistic speed. 

I can't say anything bad about the actors. They did their best in the situations they were put in. However, Kim Basinger's portrayal of femme fatale Elena is questionable but maybe her plastic surgeries are at fault. Her facial expressions were honestly stiff. It was kinda funny seeing Rita Ora either, not that her acting skills were bad, I just couldn't link her to Mia's character. What struck me the most was Mr. Dornan. I was especially impressed by Jamie's physical capabilities (we all knew he's in great shape but, man, he can flex those muscles pretty well either), and he's got better in playing, as well (his eyes lack the needed sparkle at times, though). Other than that, the film was more like a treat for guys (sorry, ladies) - there's almost no part of Dakota's body that hasn't been shown naked. One thing I do want to praise the director for is the relative subtleness of the sex scenes. They were embarrassing and awkward to watch but at least not intolerably long. I didn't have to cover my eyes as much as before, so that's a step forward.

But I must agree to what others have said - if Grey wasn't a millionaire living in a castle, this whole story would look nothing like a fairytale but rather a thriller or a horror film. We do need some change and versatility in the cinema, don't we? Besides, this film does tackle some psychological and personal-growth issues as well, so apart from all the sex positions and games, we might learn something useful after all.