The “Fifty Shades” franchise packs up its riding crops,
handcuffs, and nipple clamps as it reaches its third and climactic final
chapter, concluding the story of Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and her
tumultuous romance with brooding, kink-loving billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie
Dornan).
The opening
scenes of “Fifty Shades Free” find the couple tying the knot in front of a
crowd of family and friends. Though a wedding is what you’d traditionally
expect to be the climax of any other romance series, there are plenty more obstacles
in the couple’s path toward happily ever after. Most crucially the couple must
deal with Ana’s unhinged, potentially homicidal former boss (Eric Johnson),
looking for revenge after being fired for trying to sexually assault Ana in the
previous film.
The premise
of the mildly kinky romance series has always been ridiculous (though never as ridiculous
as I continually hope). But while these past two installments have brought in
elements — like the boss plotline — that tilt toward a soapy, 90’s erotic-thriller
vibe, these films don’t so much have a plot as they bounce from incident to
incident, pausing every so often to engage in the perfunctory sex scenes that
are its raison d’รชtre. Though capably directed by James Foley from a script by
Niall Leonard (husband of the book’s author E.L. James), the film too often
resorts to ridiculous plot developments to fill out the story; superficial
complications that are solved almost as soon as they arise.
Despite
overflowing with adult situations, the source material maintains a somewhat
adolescent approach to sex. And as a portrait of a BDSM relationship, the
“Fifty Shades” films have always been hopelessly vanilla. Audiences looking for
a more complicated exploration of dom/sub dynamics
are better off turning to films like “Secretary,” “The Duke of Burgundy,” or
even this year’s “Phantom Thread.” There’s also the troubling aspect of the
series that insists on pathologizing Christian’s
appetite for BDSM as stemming from dark psychological trauma in his past. Of course,
plenty of people with a yen for bondage are perfectly well-adjusted
individuals.
But what the
films do get right, and where they’re most interesting — and perhaps even
useful — is as explorations of consent. For all the hand-wringing over their
sex scenes, far more time is spent in each of these films watching Ana and
Christian negotiate and establish clear boundaries of what’s ok and what’s not,
both in and outside the bedroom. The couple are constantly negotiating limits,
learning where each other’s boundaries lie.
Christian’s
character may be controlling and possessive, but it’s Ana who dominates these
films. As each installment traces Ana’s evolution from naรฏve virgin to
confident woman happily taking charge of her sexuality, she embraces her inner
bossy bottom and learns that enjoying being submissive in the bedroom doesn’t
require blind obedience elsewhere.
What this
series ends up delivering is closer to luxury lifestyle porn than actual porn:
the camera lingers over private jets, yachts, and closets full of designer
clothes far more often than rope on naked skin. Truthfully, the series’
celebration of extravagant wealth could use being interrogated more thoroughly
than its sexual politics. Maybe the fact that we’ve become a bit more skeptical
of our billionaires in the time since the series
first rose to popularity is what’s shading things (no pun intended).
Even if they
only occasionally indulged in their inherent campiness, the “Fifty Shades”
movies do embrace their true purpose as glossy, escapist fantasies. Some people
like superheroes; others like watching handsome, angsty
playboys romance and occasionally spank their willing partners.
These films
aren’t good exactly, but they do bring pleasure to a lot of people and that
shouldn’t be dismissed.
Dakota
Johnson and Jamie Dornan still don’t share an iota of chemistry on screen, and
Dornan has never conveyed the magnetism that Christian Grey supposedly
possesses. In these films the actor is a handsome block of wood. Having
portrayed Ana for three films now, Johnson has always been the best part of
these films, even when she’s surrounded on all sides by nonsense. While never
winking at the audience, she’s brought a wonderful comic timing and sly wit
that these films desperately need.
Like Kristen
Stewart and Robert Pattinson once they’d finished with the “Twilight” films, I
hope Johnson finds more artistically fulfilling projects from here on out.
She’s has already demonstrated an interest in more compelling material, through
her collaborations with Luca Guadagnino (2015’s “A
Bigger Splash” and a remake of “Suspiria” due out
later this year). Now that she’s been fifty shades freed from this franchise,
here’s hoping she’s able to move on to films more worthy of her talents.
This article appears in Feb 14-20, 2018.
