‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and the nuances of sexuality
‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and the nuances of sexuality
The film adaptation promises to become the best-selling work of the first quarter of this year, but it also creates a lot of controversy around the limits of art forms.
After much anticipation, the film adaptation of the best-selling psychological novel by writer E. L. James was released to Vietnamese audiences on Valentine’s Day this year. However, along with it are controversies surrounding the story of adapting literary works, along with the limitations of different art forms.
After selling hundreds of millions of copies worldwide, the novel Fifty Shades of Gray by female writer E. L. James was immediately approached by film producers. It seems that the attraction of both art and commerce has made many directors “eager” to own this adaptation project. The last chance belongs to female director Sam Taylor-Johnson. 50 Shades of Gray is born again, by another woman. And of course, the film carries a different fate than the original novel.
Undeniably, literature is always a fertile ground for filmmakers. However, not all cinematic adaptations are successful and well received as expected. There are many factors that make audiences disappointed when seeing their favorite characters reimagined on screen by a different, unrelated person. And the film will then become a “sinner” because it cannot adapt the true spirit of the original.
Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenia or On the Road are films that suffer this fate. The first question that overwhelms the audience’s mind when entering the world of the movie is always: Where is my favorite character? Who will play the role? Is he/she as beautiful and shining as in the story? With those questions, the film was placed under a comparative and critical look right from the opening minute.
50 Shades of Gray director Sam Taylor-Johnson is also in the same situation when he takes on the mission of bringing an unbelievably perfect character to film. The young, successful, gallant billionaire with irresistible masculine beauty in the novel by E. L. James was once the “dream man” of millions of readers and is now recreated by actor and model Jamie Dornan. . This choice of the director immediately caused controversy right after the official trailer and poster of the film were released. Many viewers expressed disappointment and indignation when the monument in their hearts was “trivialized” by an actor who was not attractive enough in appearance.
Jamie Dornan indeed lacks many qualities to become a powerful and strong “male god” like in the story. The face is neither too beautiful nor too ugly, and the personality is consistent without many breakthroughs, easily making Jamie Dornan “one color” throughout the entire movie. Meanwhile, Dakota Johnson shines more or less. Only her sexy lips, wet gaze and gently flowing hair helped her complete half of her role.
It can be seen that if the “suppressor” – Mr. Gray – the soul in the novel, on the contrary, when adapted into a movie, the “servant” – Ana becomes the highlight of the film. The director was very observant in portraying both the sincerity and innocence of a student and a sexy woman in the same character. From the initial simple floral shirt to later white shirts without pants, Dakota has transformed into a sexy and attractive “woman in love”.
The complexity of thematic layers is also another obstacle when adapting literary works in general. In the story, the writer has hidden behind the story about a “morbidly nuanced” person other profound messages about gender equality, about the different shades of gray of sexuality, which are not simple. like black and white. This is not easy to express through images and conversations on film. Not to mention, the motif of childhood sexual memories introduced by the writer to thicken the character is also an interesting topic but has not been properly utilized. Mr. Therefore, it is difficult for Gray to receive sympathy from the majority for his “sick” hobbies.
It would be a lame comparison to place two artistic languages next to each other, as well as placing the capacity of hundreds of pages of a novel next to a movie of just over 120 minutes. Placing on director Sam Taylor-Johnson the mission of fully and faithfully portraying the spirit of E. L. James is itself absurd.
In some ways, 50 Shades of Gray is still a romantic drama that takes viewers through many different levels of emotions, from love at first sight to flirting, dating, or the inevitable disappointments of love. First love is not as expected. Not to mention, ignoring a few shortcomings, the film still has an important highlight: the soundtrack. The songs Crazy in Love, Haunted, Earned It, Love Me Like You Do or I Put a Spell On You with their leading and evocative arrangements promise to continue to create attraction after the movie.
Compared to the original version, the “Asian version” released in Vietnam has been made “softer” to limit the extreme nature of the film. That will certainly make 50 Shades of Gray somewhat confusing and disappointing for audiences who have not read the work. However, the film still has much more to say than that, if one does not view it as a mechanical simulation of monuments.
