Basinger shows up as a Cassandra-like figure, hell-bent on warning Anastasia off. Robinson” in “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the older woman who initiated Christian into all the joys of bondage play, at the very same moment she was committing statutory rape. Kim Basinger shows up as Elena Lincoln, the oft-mentioned “Mrs. She is not afraid of the material and also not afraid to show how absurd she finds some of it, how absurd she finds him. Johnson doesn’t quite make Anastasia distinctive or unique, but she does come off onscreen as reactive, and impulsive. Up against some serious competition in “A Bigger Splash” ( Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tilda Swinton), she more than held her own. She was wonderful in Luca Guadagnino's “ A Bigger Splash,” one of the best films of last year, playing a manipulative little sexpot who enjoys messing with the heads of the men in thrall to her. There’s a goofiness about her, a charming awkwardness that feels organic Foley was smart enough to realize how much Johnson's sense of humor helps the film. The dialogue is so silly and so repetitive that it could sink a far more seasoned actress. It's so evident that it becomes a defining characteristic, as well as an important anchor for a film that desperately needs it. The thing about Dakota Johnson-and it’s very important-is that she is unable to suppress her clear intelligence and, even rarer, sense of humor. And she has fun with it, for the most part. Anastasia is drawn back into the web of Christian's desires. (Screenwriter Niall Leonard had his work cut out for him adapting the book.) These two lovebirds cannot catch a break and “vanilla” cannot withstand such unbelievable pressure. It is, so they have vanilla sex, and everything is going great-with boat rides and masked balls and makeover montages-until … well, until all kinds of things, so many, many, MANY things-old lovers, a shady business deal, PTSD flashbacks, an attempted sexual assault, a helicopter careening out of control-intervene. He’s even willing to go “vanilla” if that’s her preference. Was Hannah the only name available?)Ĭhristian wants Anastasia back. (Side note: another assistant in the office is named “Hannah” and so we are treated to multiple scenes with variations of: “Good night Anna.” “Good night, Hannah.” “Hannah, how are you?” “I’m fine, Anna.” etc. Her boss ( Eric Johnson) is a leering entitled predator who makes Christian look manageable by comparison.
Anastasia now works as an assistant editor in a small publishing house. “Fifty Shades Darker” picks up shortly after that. Would Anastasia sign Christian’s Byzantine contract of sexual consent? Would she agree to “anal fisting”? Tune in next week! That film ended with a sex game gone wrong, and Anastasia realizing that S&M actually involved, you know, pain. Johnson.)Ģ015's “Fifty Shades of Grey” (directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson) was a ponderous affair showing the prolonged foreplay before the actual foreplay. Christian and Anastasia have subtext-free conversations, where Anastasia murmurs howlers such as, “So you pick women who look like your mother?” with a straight face. James as fantasy fodder makes for tiresome viewing. This is the main thrust of the movie (puns are unavoidable): Christian’s unresolved trauma from his Dickensian past and whether or not Anastasia can help him heal. “Fifty Shades Darker” starts with Christian waking up from a nightmare of the abuse he experienced as a child. These films take themselves extremely seriously, which makes them very easy targets.
There's a lot of inadvertently hilarious stuff in "Fifty Shades Darker," directed by James Foley (and he'll be directing the final installment too, "Fifty Shades Freed”), with Johnson and Dornan back as star-crossed lovers Anastasia and Christian, respectively. Did the set decorator put the poster there to add texture? Backstory? Whatever the intent, having "Riddick" loom as the background image in a desperately serious, post-coital conversation was inadvertently hilarious. Looming behind his head on the wall is a gigantic " Riddick" poster. James’ " Fifty Shades of Grey" juggernaut, was a "Chronicles of Riddick" fan? In a scene in "Fifty Shades Darker," the sequel to "Fifty Shades of Grey," Christian ( Jamie Dornan) sits in his childhood bedroom and tentatively opens up to his girlfriend Anastasia ( Dakota Johnson). Who would have guessed that, when he was a boy, Christian Grey, the controlling, sexually sadistic bazillionaire at the center of E.L.