Anastasia Steele, a senior in literature at a university in Seattle, has an assignment
to interview Christian Grey, the 27-year-old mega billionaire touted as the world’s most eligible bachelor. She is allotted 10 minutes. Christian becomes fascinated with her naivety and follows her to her part-time job as a clerk in a hardware store where he purchases cable ties, duct tape, and rope. This could be a start of a Cinderella story come true for Ana except that Grey (Jamie Dorman) is a psycho whose hobby is BDSM.
Grey describes his fetish to Ana (Dakota Johnson) and reveals that he has had 15 previous submissive partners. A contract must be signed protecting him from financial repercussions. The agreement also lists her sexual obligations. He takes her to his “Red Room of Pain” playhouse that displays fur lined hand and ankle cuffs, whips, feathers, and contraptions to hold the submissive partner in receptive contortions. She becomes intrigued. She hesitates much like Alice standing in front of the looking glass contemplating her voyage into the unknown. She takes the plunge.
The movie is a poor take-off on the novel that sold more than 100 million copies. This second film edition of a trilogy seems to be rushed. Exactly what went wrong is difficult to explain. It may be that a 24-year-old, fairly attractive college senior is still a virgin might have been imaginable in a book, but in a two-hour movie it comes off as sheer hypocrisy! Grey is rarely seen working or making momentous business decisions, yet a skyscraper office building bears his name and he has his own helicopter plus a stable of exotic automobiles—all signs of success. Closets in his penthouse have suits and shirts aligned so the items never touch their counterparts.
Dakota Johnson is reasonably well cast, but rumor has it that she was locked up in a room for two months on bread and water to prepare for the nude scenes that clearly define her ribs. Her breasts are barely adequate and are challenged by Dornan’s own pectorals. In case you did not realize the connection, she is the daughter of “Miami Vice” star Don Johnson and actress Melanie Griffith. The sex scenes are 15 minutes at the most and not worth the wait. Ana never reaches a believable climax. Grey’s hands and tongue never seem to touch the critical spots nor stay there as long they should.
At a lavish costume party, Christian introduces Ana to a bitter Elena Lincoln (Kim Basinger), one of his first partners. Elena tries to warn Ana of pending problems with Christian, but to no avail.
Note that an unexpected advancement in the film shooting date gave Dorman only 10 days to prepare for his reprise role. From his performance, there is reason to believe he is reading all his lines from cue cards.
At the best, this movie is a mediocre melodrama.
The show was viewed at the Barnstorm Theater on its Thursday night single preview showing. Half the seats were filled; the gender was evenly split. Currently the show is on the screen at both the Old Mill Playhouse and the Barnstorm Theater in The Villages
“Fifty Shades Darker” gets a D grade for dull and, most of all, disappointing.
Jack Petro reviews movies for Villages-News.com
