Fifty Shades of Grey: The Movie vs. The Book

With the film release of Fifty Shades of Grey right around the corner, we’re bound to hear a cornucopia of opinions – especially from those comparing the movie to the book. It’s no surprise, since fans were already angered over the initial casting of Charlie Hunnam as Christian Grey – all because he didn’t match the description in E L James’ book. Once Hunnam stepped down due to scheduling conflicts, fans were happy to see the brunette hair and chiseled cheeks of Jamie Dornan filling the role.

It should go without saying that the book and film will not match up perfectly. There was even reported feuding between E L James and director Sam Taylor-Johnson because of the differences that have to occur. Some aspects just translate poorly between the mediums and others are simple artistic preferences. As producer Michael De Luca said, “In any adaption of a book, you have to lose some stuff and you have to combine some stuff.” However, with E L James on board as a producer, you can expect to see many similarities.

The “Inner Goddess” Monologue

If you were planning on hearing the inner thoughts of Anastasia Steele throughout the film, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. The film will take more of a third-party perspective to showcase the emotion of all characters. The visual elements and musical cues should be enough to send you into a frenzy just as well as the book. If the trailers are any sign of the emotionally fired cinematography, we’ll do just fine without it.

The “Mommy Porn” Scenes

The book may have been given the “mommy porn” nickname, but you can plan for the film release to be a solid R rating. Fifty Shades of Grey received the rating for strong sexual content including dialogue, some unusual behavior and graphic nudity, and for language. From a business perspective, Universal Studios and Focus Features would lose out on a ton of money if the movie isn’t given an R rating. The fact of the matter is, not all theaters even show movies over this rating. An R rating allows them to appeal to a wider demographic.

The Soundtrack

While reading the book, you most likely didn’t have a powerfully charged soundtrack playing in the background. After the release of the trailer featuring a seductive rendition of “Crazy In Love” by Beyoncé, we can expect one sexually charged soundtrack to be headed our way. It’s no surprise either, since music has been used to emphasize emotional cues in films since the silent film era. That soundtrack should have no trouble selling millions of copies while women everywhere use it for inspiration.

The Notoriously Poor Grammar

Critics across the globe had scoffed at “Fifty Shades of Grey” – not for its erotic content, but because of its gratuitous amount of spelling and grammatical errors. Some readers even say that it disrupted the flow of the story. Since the film will be delivered in a visual medium, you will have no worries of stumbling over a syntax error to destroy the tone of the film. With the overwhelming interest in this flick, it’s safe to say even the subtitles will be free of grammatical errors.

While there will be some easily recognizable differences, it’s safe to say they plan to stick to the book as closely as possible. The fans have made it abundantly clear that they won’t be happy with too much deviation, and like the book, the film will clearly aim to please.

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