Universal Pictures
I’ve really been trying to avoid subjecting myself to Fifty Shades of Grey, having never seen many of the popular book-to-film series like Twilight or The Hunger Games (and I am well-aware that the Fifty Shades story started out as Twilight fan fiction, which made it even less interesting to me), but when I was offered a copy of the Blu-ray to review (courtesy of Universal Pictures Home Video), I decided to take the plunge.
By now, you must be familiar with the story. Young woman goes to interview wealthy young businessman, they have an immediate spark and mutual attraction, romance blossoms, then young man reveals a darker side to himself alternately intriguing and terrifying the young woman. And that’s the PG-13 version.
The R-rated (or Unrated if you choose) version involves the man, Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), and his sexual proclivities, mainly as a “Dominant” in a relationship full of discipline, bondage, pleasure and more. The young woman, Anastasia Steele, is understandably concerned by the notion of giving herself over to Christian’s will, and the fact that he has a formal, legal contract at the ready should she agree to enter into this Dominant/Submissive relationship (with such items enforcing how much she can drink and what she can eat). Ana agrees to give the relationship a trial run before submitting to the terms of the contract (and not without some very humorous negotiations, the best scene in the movie), but his terms for punishment should she disobey him (or simply roll her eyes) pushes her over the edge.
I’ve never read the books, nor will I ever, so I don’t know how closely the film follows but as the author was an active participant in the making of the film, I would assume it hews very closely. That being said, I don’t get at all why this story has stuck such a nerve with people, mostly women. This first chapter is an okay introduction to the characters, but it spends a very long two-plus hours playing this cat and mouse game with the characters and the audience. Both Christian and Ana play hard to get with each other, mostly Ana as she keeps leading Christian on then giving him the cold shoulder, trying to prove her dominance and that she’s not going to simply give in to his demands simply because he’s gorgeous and the sex is amazing.
Christian’s character is frustratingly all over the place. He’s the Dominant, but he let’s Ana get away with quite a bit (perhaps because she’s not technically formalized the agreement?). She asks him to do certain things like go on a date or simply sleep in the same bed, things which he says he does not do, and then he turns around and does them. Who exactly is the Dominant here? The most frustrating moment of all comes at the film’s climax (no pun intended) as Ana asks Christian to show him what a punishment would be like, he does, and then she totally freaks out. Ummm, what he showed her seemed mild compared to what he could have done and … she asked for it! And then the movie ends, very clearly setting the stage for the next two movies.
But where does the story go from here? If you haven’t read the books, one can assume that there can be one of two endings. We learn mid-way through the story that Christian got involved in the BDSM scene as a submissive to an older woman (and that he had a terrible childhood with a crackhead mother who put her cigarettes out on his chest). So, as Ana continually tries to assert her dominance in the relationship, the tables will turn by the end and she will be the Dominant to his Submissive. Either that or she will finally break through and release his tortured psyche so that they will have a “normal” relationship and live happily ever after. One thing that will not happen is that they will go their separate ways. This would never have become the phenomenon it is if it had an unsatisfactory ending. I’m going to go for option one as to how the story wraps up (don’t ruin it for me or anyone else if you do know how it ends).
The new Blu-ray release contains both the R-rated and Unrated versions of the movie. I don’t know what is different between the two except for perhaps a little more nudity (maybe the insert shot of Christian unzipping his pants almost revealing …), but it didn’t seem to contain anything that hasn’t been seen in R-rated films. (A full rundown can be found on People.com.) The 1080p video image on the Blu-ray is gorgeous, and considering a lot of the film takes place in low light situations, you have nothing to complain about. Colors look great, from the skin tones to the starkness of Christian’s apartment to the deep reds of his playroom, whites are never overblown, blacks are deep and artifact free and textures from materials to skin pores are clear. The English DTS-HD Master 5.1 audio is spotless, clearly separating the voices from the sound effects and terrific music used throughout the film. Even in a very noisy bar scene, it is very easy to hear Anastasia talking on her cell phone.
The Blu-ray has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the bonus material. There is plenty of it, but it all comes in short spurts (sorry, bad choice of words there). The largest collection of materials comes in “The World of Fifty Shades of Grey” which includes background information on the characters of Christian and Anastasia as well as the actors who portrayed them, a look at the sets and costumes, and bios of all of the supporting actors from Marcia Gay Hardin to Rita Ora. The longest of these, at just over 8 minutes, looks at the construction of Christian’s apartment. Frustratingly, there is no Play All feature which makes sitting through a short piece and having to fiddle with the remote a bit tiring. Also included in the bonus material:
- “Behind the Shades” (19:28) takes a more in-depth look at the making of the film from the script to locations, costumes and shooting the more explicit scenes.
- “E. L. James & Fifty Shades” (5:45) is an interview with the author touching on the success of the books and the film.
- “Fifty Shades: The Pleasure of Pain” (8:42) features the film’s BDSM consultant with input from the director and some cast members talking about the concept of BDSM and the film’s themes.
- “Christian’s Apartment 360 Degree Set Tour” is an interactive feature that allows the viewer to look around the sets and get closer looks with a gallery of photos.
- Music Videos for Skylar Grey’s “I Know You” and The Weekend’s “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)”
- Behind the Scenes of “Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)” (4:49) with input from the film’s and music video’s director Sam Taylor-Johnson and singer Abel Tesfaye.
- Tease of Fifty Shades Darker (o:29) which shows Christian putting on a mask.
If you’re a devoted fan of the movie and the books, you’ll almost certainly want to pick up the Blu-ray for the flawless (and unrated) presentation of the film and the copious extras. Someone with some curiosity of what the fuss is all about might want to consider a rental before diving in, but all of the extras certainly make a purchase worthwhile.
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