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Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), R, ★1/2

It's getting steamy in the elevator. Wow!
It is the movie that everybody, e.g. women, is anticipating for for about a year. Ok, I have heard about the book for a while from a few friends and it has been in the tabloids and Internet for long stretches of time as it was sold globally and when the libraries banned the book and its two sequels. High school libraries: I can understand. College libraries: I think that they are all adults, at least, but some would rather study. However, I understand and do not understand simultaneously as to why the book was a hit with women. It is fantasy mixed with sickness. The movie tries to prove a point to pinpoint the sexy scenes with eroticism, sickness and fantasy. There are a few sexy scenes in an otherwise boring erotic movie.

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is a journalism major at Vancouver University in Washington. She is on her way to take over for her sick friend and roommate, Kate (Eloise Mumford), to interview the mysterious Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), a CEO at Grey Enterprises. Ana asks prepared questions regarding him being adopted when he was 4 years old and whether or not he is a homosexual. Christian replies he is not but is attracted to Ana's fear and discomfort. After the interview is over, he escorts Ana back to the elevator gazing at each other saying each other's name while the elevator door is closing.

Meanwhile, later, Ana works at a hardware store and while her manager calls her to help him in the back room, she walks in the aisle and surprisingly encounters Christian. He asks for several materials such as duct tape and rope and she comments that these are tools for a serial killer and Christian replies that he is not...today. They start to get along as they both have coffee and discuss their families  and Ana asks Christian if he has a girlfriend and Christian states that he does not do the "girlfriend thing".

As both Kate and Ana celebrate by finishing their finals, they celebrate with Jose (Victor Rasuk) and a few other friends and while drunk, Ana calls Christian while in line in the ladies room. Christian goes pick Ana up and as Jose tries to get with her, Christian pushes him and Ana...well, you know, what happens when someone is totally drunk. Christian and Ana gets a bit flirtatious as they kiss passionately in the elevator. Later, Christian takes Ana to a private helicopter and takes her to Seattle to Christian's apartment. As, Christian takes Ana to his "playroom", Ana discovers a room filled with BDSM materials such as floggers, chains and whips. Oh, boy!

Ana walks unclothed to Christian playing on the piano.
This movie tries to explore BDSM and the pleasures of sex in a dark but also fantastical direction but underneath all that sex is material that substitutes that with plot and character development and therefore, the film remains so monotonous. Is the hype for the film worth seeing on screen? Well...no. I felt that the material is so engaging that the filmmakers do not bother to get too creative and just let the characters talk trite dialogue. We do not understand why the rich businessman is attracted to the beautiful shy girl in the beginning. He just does. The dialogue and material becomes almost dreadful that it got repetitive as Ana keeps asking questions regarding the "working relationship" and Christian replies that "that's how the way I am". Can we have a little more information than that?

The movie does not explore the darkness of their relationship too well because frankly, we don't care and as the movie is over, it ends abruptly and is frustratingly ambiguous. The relationship promised more titillation and power and there's a bit of that but most of their foreplay seemed so manipulative as a way to just insert the scene as the scene that will make us sweat and open our mouth for a long time while Christian and Ana do their thing and there's many scenes like that.

Dakota Johnson, I thought, was actually very good as Anastasia who looks shy and vulnerable but is enticed to the pleasures of Christian's domain for a while but then there's a little character development in the second half. However, there were at times when she bites her lips many times as a ploy to cheat as a character development tool and does not grasp her characteristics well. Jamie Dornan, I'm afraid, is stoned and stiff as the male character and he looks at her like he is looking at a wall and looks too uncomfortable and embarrassed to be in the movie. Plus, there is not much chemistry between them and that's the aspect that many viewers will look for.

So, what can I say more that is positive of this movie? Well, it is shot real well and is photographed beautifully showing us the overhead skies and skyscrapers as it is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, who is an artist. Plus, there is a pretty good soundtrack underneath the movie, although, in a few scenes, it gets a little awkward with the music playing in the background. But, the premise of shy girl manipulated to fall in love with rich guy is the entire movie as it gets more tiresome and boring. If you want my advice, just wait for someone to post the kinky scenes on YouTube or another website and save your money because this movie was 50 shades of boredom with very little heat.

*1/2

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