Chapter 49: It's Not Porn

“Mr Grey will see you now.”

Before I begin, I want to be clear that this is NOT a review of either the book or the movie, but is my two cents – for whatever that’s actually worth – regarding how I felt about the movie having read the book.

[deep breath, that was a long sentence]

First, I feel the need to confess –

1. I only read 50 Shades of Grey, but know about the other two books and how they both turned out;
2. I’m not a fan of EL James’s writing style – this might add to a bias;
3. I never got caught up in the Grey drama, but I read the first book because all my friends told me to…

That said,

I believe that Grey represents the hidden fantasy of a perfect male, which makes the books real-true-pure-fiction. Let’s remember that 50 Shades came from Twilight fan fiction, so naturally the male would have to be simultaneously tortured AND lovable. My thoughts of the story as I read it, if I remember correctly, were something like:

1. Ok. Not my genre, but whatevs;
2. Anastasia is really smart and sarcastic and that’s cool – although everyone who told me to read the series told me I would hate her because she’s so weak;
1. I think her inner dialogue made her seem incredibly naïve and stupid;
2. I always read her as if she were me, so I thought of her as having the upper hand, not him;
3. Christian is tragic and beautiful and every woman’s dream, even with his “red room of pain” – what’s new?
4. I’m not dying to read the other two in the series – I talked about them with friends, spoilers abound, I know what happens.

Ok…so, I spent Valentine’s night at the movie with my friend, who also read the books. Here is why I prefer the movie to the book, aside from not having to deal with Anastasia’s inner dialogue.

1. Character development was more thorough in the movie. This could have been due to the luxury of people bringing characters to life in a way that EL James was unable to do through her lackluster writing. I never felt like Ana or Christian were very round characters while reading the book, James doesn’t do a very good job of setting the scene – not even the sexy ones – so seeing characters respond through body language, facial features, hearing intonation while speaking, etc. made Ana and Christian seem more real;
2. Movie Ana is DEFINITELY portrayed as stronger, smarter, and more capable than her text version. She is perceived as being the one in control more than Christian, which I think was the point. I believe that’s how she was supposed to be perceived in the book as well since it’s Christian who undergoes the greatest change, but her vapid inner dialogue ruins that character trait in the book;
3. Movie Christian has a certain approachable sex appeal. Reading the book resulted in my imagining a Christian that was godly; someone whose being is so pristine that he’s inhuman, which in turn, makes his attraction to Ana that much more unrealistic and fantasy. Movie Christian is also too perfect, but something about Jamie Dornan playing Christian brings a different level of humanity to the character. There are moments when Christian looks at Ana without her noticing and you get the sense that he has a genuine concern for her; he loves her immediately – this isn’t the feeling I had from reading the book.

Now, about some of the other issues with 50 Shades…

I, by no means, am a sex addict or into porn in any way. I don’t find the series OR the movie uncomfortable, offensive, or abusive – as some have labeled both. I try to remain as free from judgment as possible, especially where sex - and preference - is concerned. I have a very “to each their own” view on all things sexual. I disagree that Christian is sexually abusive or that he ever manipulates Ana and, essentially, rapes her. She’s intrigued by him from the very beginning; she gives herself to him in every instance, until she decides not to anymore. Her very ability to walk away without harm or consequence demonstrates a level of strength and growth in her character and lack of abusive tendencies in his character. All of that said, I thought the movie treated the subject tastefully – it could have been a lot more NC17; the only difference between 50 Shades sex scenes and any other movie is that there are more of them – that’s it! No shock value at all.

Finally, if you read the book, you know what’s coming, which is true of any movie adaptation, but because the topic is still uncomfortable for most people, you can’t help but find the movie comical - at least in the beginning and with the dialogue. It’s not easy to sit in a theater with 300 other people and listen to a young hottie tell a younger girl that he doesn’t make love, he fucks…hard. That’s funny when you’re sitting with strangers in close proximity knowing what comes next; no pun intended.

My final thoughts are that I found the movie to be of better quality than expected given the content and my feelings about the book. I will see both of the other movies. I thought it was perfectly cast – this is rare – but Ana and Christian are far more believable as fictional characters in the adaption than they are in the book. Also, I know it’s just a movie, just a book, and I don’t have expectations for the plot to be “real.” That’s what makes fiction popular – it allows the reader or viewer to enter a space that is fantasy, even if it’s based on reality, it isn’t the life we lead on a regular basis. I believe this is true for all fiction – when we read or watch a movie, we’re taken someplace else. That’s what keeps us coming back for more.

What are your thoughts?

Until Next Time,

Courtney Chivon