On Valentine’s day eve, Tripti and I decided to watch ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ – the movie release was hyped leading up to the release day. Tripti had read the three books, not once but twice, and she was looking forward to seeing the ‘adaptation’ of this E.L James book.

I have had discussions with Tripti on these books, the character, and how the story progresses at specific points in time. I have never managed to read the books (never bothered about it), and instead, as a passive audience of this trilogy, I was looking forward to seeing how the story from the first book would unfold on the big screen.

 ********************************************************

Let’s go back in time – Tripti and I had seen another movie called ‘Secretary.’ Released in 2002, Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the Secretary to an individual lawyer named ‘Edward Grey.’

(Spoiler Alert) It is a love story, unconventional with comic elements. In essence, it is a romantic-comedy, but not your usual type (you know what I mean). James Spader plays the role of Mr. Grey (well, well, well, is that a coincidence), who appears demanding, intimidating at times and instantly made us wonder if he indeed was an inspiration for ‘Christian Grey’? However, he is more open, subtle, and less severe than Christian. And with Fifty Shades of Grey, there are traces of Edward now and then.

********************************************************

Coming back to yesterday’s movie – we felt it could have been better. As a stand-alone movie, I would prefer ‘Secretary’ any day over this one. The title role lacked the ‘masculine’ touch, and as Tripti pointed it out, Jamie Dornan didn’t look convincing, be it the looks or the acting prowess. The reality hit her as the ‘Christian Grey’ of the book appeared nowhere close to the one on screen.

I am not sure if this was a book with all the ingredients to make a movie out of it. The way film panned out – it fizzed away and never had us hooked for a lengthy period. As a title character, the lack of emotional expressions became the weak point. On the other hand, Secretary evoked curiosity, which was not because of its lack of literary baggage. The characters played out their parts convincingly and showed why movie making is all about acting and convincing the part actors’ audience.

How will the sequels turn out in the case of Christian Grey?