Several Shades of Grey

Rating: 5/10 (17 February 2015)

I haven't read the books, but I had read a lot of the reviews before going to see this with my wife, so I could give myself a head start on what to expect. I found that a lot of the reviews were actually really unfair and based on a pre-conceived idea of whether the film would be good or bad - which is no way to review a movie. Open your eyes and be honest with yourself about how it made you feel, not what the media hype and controversy says! So, with an open mind I watched. I was entertained in parts, intrigued in others, and disappointed in a number of places. The main problem for me (having not read the books) is that there are too many questions/things that didn't add up, which made it frustrating to watch, and there were some parts of the movie where I was starting to get a bit bored...
The screenplay isn't great, but I hear the book isn't exactly a masterpiece, so that makes sense. That did limit some of the acting in parts, but on the whole the character portrayals from the key names were superb. I 100% bought into the character of Christian Grey because Jamie Dornan made him believable, genuine, and intriguing - he is clearly a very deep character with many layers that unfortunately weren't explored enough (not his fault). I was less convinced with Dakota Johnson's character, mainly because she spent more time biting her lip than doing anything useful - but I understand the reasons why. The problem with her wasn't the acting, but again the character didn't have enough background to convince me - her behaviour confused me because I think key details about why she thinks/feels the way she does weren't explored.
The contract scene was fantastic - it was slick, smart, well acted, and by far the best scene in the movie. The sex scenes weren't bad, leaving just enough to the imagination, and not so over-acted that they seemed cheesy.
The stand out piece for me was the soundtrack, which was moody, seductive, modern, and set the mood well for each scene.
Overall, the film left me with too many questions, sure they might be answered by the sequels, but at this point there's just blank space. It definitely promoted healthy discussion, and some of the acting was impressive. Bottom line, it is far from a classic, but a guaranteed money maker (as opening weekend proved).