Very true to the book, but more suggestive eye acting required

Rating: 6/10 (10 March 2017)

Not sure what all the fuss was about in terms of sexual content with this first of the trilogy movies: you see more sex in one episode of the television show 'Shameless'. There was very good casting with some of the actors: Max Martini as Taylor (looking forward to seeing more of him in the second film), and Eloise Mumford as Ana's best friend Kate (beautiful as well as an excellent actress, although her part in the film was smaller than in the book). The film is limited as to what can be achieved in 2 hours: There was so much more content in the book than in the film. And there lies the challenge. I think the scriptwriters could have done a better job to include more dialogue to clarify: how Ana's parents reacted to Christian (as well as Christian's parents to Ana), and how upset Ana became as the story progressed, as she was subjected to matters with which she lacked understanding. They didn't convey how Kate was aware that Christian was making Ana "cry all the time now" as she dealt with her feelings of confusion, and was very protective of her friend. There could have been many more meaningful glances from Christian to show how totally enraptured he is with Ana, how this attraction is supposed to grow throughout the story, and his constant inner battles that she must be too naive for him to initiate into this 'lifestyle' so he should leave her alone. Still, the locations and sets were spot on, the content which was included was very true to the book, and overall the director did a good job to capture this budding 'romance'.