Fifty Shades Of Grey: 10 Ways It Tricks People Into Liking It

5. There's Countless Pointless Digressions Just To Add "Directorial Flourish"

One thing that the film's defenders tend to point to as proof that Fifty Shades Of Grey manages to escape its paltry source is Sam Taylor-Johnson's direction. Now while Taylor-Johnson is certainly a better filmmaker than E. L. James is a writer (although even Brett Ratner gives her a run for her money), there's not really anything in the film that shows any sense of skill; she's really bitten off more toast than she can chew here. Sure, things don't look as cheap as your standard erotic thriller, but a $40 million budget will do that with minimal effort. The laziness of the sex scenes will be looked at in detail later, but the bridging narrative scenes are all presented in a very un-novel way, the whole film dominated by the idea that some artsy-fartsy cinematography will hide how unimaginative the approach to narrative, character, set design, acting and probably catering is. In an attempt to create the illusion she's tried to made an artistic film, Taylor-Johnson throws in scenes just there to appease the critical crowd. Just before the film turns into its "dark" finale, she diverges from the book and shows Grey take Steele on a glider ride. It's totally unnecessary to the story's momentum, but allows some faux-symbolic moments so the film can masquerade as something more than boobs and pretty people.