‘Fifty Shades of Grey: Unseen Edition’ Blu-ray Review
Stars: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Luke Grimes, Jennifer Ehle, Eloise Mumford, Victor Rasuk, Marcia Gay Harden, Max Martini, Callum Keith Rennie | Written by Kelly Marcel | Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson
When “innocent” Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) finds herself interviewing handsome billionaire business man Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) an obvious attraction is shared and sparks fly. Instead of being in a traditional relationship though Anastasia finds herself with a contract that sees her agreeing to become submissive to Grey, and so the negotiations begin.
One thing I asked myself with Fifty Shades of Grey was if I was watching a parody of romance films, but then convinced myself that no this was not the case. The problem with the relationship between Anastasia and Christian isn’t his fetish, but the words that come out of his mouth, and hers. The one dimensional characters come out with lines that just aren’t needed in a movie, yet for some reason are still in place. I don’t want to spoil it for anybody who will watch it, but this is an issue that makes the movie comparable to Showgirls.
The fact is that Fifty Shades of Grey is oddly a fun movie to watch, until the end spoils it with just how badly the Grey character is thought out. While his “play room” doesn’t really phase me, it is the reasoning given for the way he acts that in many ways ruins the character. This may be fixed in the two films that are to come, and remember I’ve not read the books so I’m blind to whether Anastasia manages to fix him or not. For now though he becomes a charmless character, which is confusing because it leaves the ending feeling somewhat of an anti-climax (no pun intended).
As a viewer of the movie I couldn’t help but wish that Anastasia showed her true potential, it is obvious that she is rebellious against the wishes of Grey, and she is in love with him but she is a contradicted character who at times she is independent, and others submissive (and this is not in the playroom). I do get the feeling that this is not the intention in the first movie though. The fact most of the film focuses on the negotiations of the relationship contract shows she isn’t an idiot, yet often we don’t seem to be allowed to see this. We are forced into seeing her as the “innocent” and Grey as the creepy stalker who she falls in love with.
Watching Fifty Shades of Grey it becomes obvious why there is so much controversy around the books, especially with the lines that appear to have made it into the film. What should be serious scenes are turned unintentionally funny because they border on the ridiculous, and this is where the film feels fun. This weakens what 50 Shades of Grey is obviously designed to be, for people trying to figure out what all the fuss is about, the answer is all too easy to see on the screen.
It’s interesting really how Fifty Shades of Grey should be taken. Both Dakota Johnson and James Dornan do the best with the script they have, and they don’t do a bad job at all. The fans of the book will obviously love what they see and fall for the Christian Grey as they see him on the screen, but for people who want to see this subject brought to screen in a more satisfying way, watch the Secretary instead. Now to see where the story goes in the sequels and if the comedy will continue as the trilogy progresses. With E L James gaining more control, I’m sure that it will.
Fifty Shades of Grey: Unseen Edition is available on DVD and Blu-ray from June 22nd.
