Not as bad as its been painted but not great

Rating: 5/10 (14 February 2015)

We all know the story. Nervous college student Anastassia Steele goes to interview billionaire Christian Grey after her flatmate gives her the job owing to having a bad cold. The interview doesn't go too well. The questions she asks are frankly lousy and she's too nervous and extremely uncertain around the rather good looking young man in his incredibly modern office. After being ushered out by him, they say goodbye at the elevator and Ana breathes a much needed sigh of relief.
Not long after, Grey visits her in the DIY store where she works on the precursor of buying DIY supplies. After several minutes of stumbling around and eyeing each other, Grey leaves but gives her his business card.
Ana then finishes her exams and accompanies her friend Kate on a drinking session out. During the course of it, Ana phones up Grey in a moment of drunken bravery and admonishes him for giving her a set of Thomas Hardy first editions. He questions her quite frankly about her drinking and then she hangs up. She then goes outside and finds herself the object of her photographer Jose's unwanted attentions, but Grey is there to save the day.
After all this, Ana finds herself waking up in a lovely hotel room being watched by a sweaty Grey. Again, he repeats his insistence that his tastes are rather singular but seems to be more drawn to her, this time, biting some of her toast in a playful manner.
Grey then agrees for her to come to his apartment for a 'date'. She is picked up after her work and whisked by helicopter to Grey's home, an elegant apartment which is more hotel looking than home. After drinks and explanations, he gets her to sign a nondisclosure agreement then comes the big reveal.
Ana is taken up to Grey's 'Playroom'. Naively, she believes this to mean a place where he stores his Xbox but it certainly isn't. What it is, is the elegant, opulently coloured and designed for purpose room for sexual bondage, domination and Sada-masochist activities. After showing her floggers, paddles, whips, canes, a frame system for restraint, a bench for spanking, a bed complete with more rings and restraints and a couch, he explains that this is what he enjoys and that he doesn't do conventional relationship type stuff.
All of this seems extremely overwhelming and Ana is understandably shocked. She reveals to Grey that she has no experience of sexual matters as she is a virgin and he looks at her with new eyes. With no further ado on his part, he seeks to 'rectify' the situation and has sex with her.
From this moment on, the film becomes very much about how their relationship is a to and fro. Grey tells Ana why he is the way he is in a forest walk and explains the influence of Elena, his 'Mrs Robinson' and why he was her submissive for some years. There are long moments where Ana researches the role he wants her to play, that of a sexual submissive and, with the help of a laptop given to her by Grey, begins to realise that she isn't sure this is what she wants. There is no doubt that she is enjoying sex with Grey but there is also that other side and its a difficult one. Eventually, Ana jumps in the deep end and decides to go into the playroom and gets involved. Prior to this point, the sex has been interesting and rather romantic, but then things get darker. Grey is in his element here and knows what he's doing.
Yet all things have to come to an end and the end is heart rendering. Ana asks how 'bad' the punishment can be and Grey responds by beating her 6 times with a braided leather belt. Ana's horror at what he's done echoes and their story ends as it started: her in an elevator.
Firstly, this film isn't the book. Yes, it shares the same characters as the book but that is where the similarity ends. This is a stylishly lit, well edited, beautifully rendered film.Even Grey's playroom is a work of art, both beautiful and intimidating. This is how you imagine a billionaire would conduct his BDSM lifestyle.
The problem with this film is not the way it looks or the characters. Jamie Dornan is okay as Christian Grey but always looks as if he is fighting with the script and wants to say more meaningful things. Dakota Johnson's character of Ana is far better depicted in the movie than on the page. She is self-possessed, sure of what she wants and less naive than her book character, who looks very different in comparison. The Ana of the film is, for some parts, calling the shots. The Ana of the book is too nervous to know what she really wants. Again, the script does neither of these characters any favours. There are too many unintentionally funny moments there.
Neither is the film depicting, as some have argued, domestic abuse. Christian Grey, at some points in the film, tells Ana that he is not right for her. Prior to showing her the playroom, he tells her that his helicopter is ready for him to take her home if she really wants to go. Ana is not forced or tied up against her will.