Fifty Shades Darker (film)
Fifty Shades Darker is a 2017 American erotic romantic drama film directed by James Foley and written by Niall Leonard, based on E. L. James's 2012 novel of the same name. Produced by Michael De Luca Productions and Trigger Street Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the second installment in the Fifty Shades film series and the sequel to the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey. The film stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan as Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, respectively, with Eric Johnson, Eloise Mumford, Bella Heathcote, Rita Ora, Luke Grimes, Victor Rasuk, Kim Basinger, and Marcia Gay Harden in supporting roles. It follows Ana and Christian as they must decide to rekindle their relationship, this time with "no rules, no punishments, and no more secrets" terms.
Fifty Shades Darker
Niall Leonard
- Michael De Luca
- E. L. James
- Dana Brunetti
- Marcus Viscidi
- February 7, 2017 (Hamburg)
- February 10, 2017 (United States)
118 minutes[1]
United States
English
$55 million[2]
$381 million[3]
Before the release of Fifty Shades of Grey in 2015, there was high anticipation from fans for the sequel. When the first film premiered at a special fan screening in New York City in February 2015, development on the sequels promptly began. By November 2015, Foley and Leonard were respectively hired to direct and write both sequels, which would be shot back-to-back in 2016. Principal photography was initially set to begin in Vancouver in June 2015. However, it was later postponed due to delays in Leonard finishing the script. Filming on Fifty Shades Darker and its sequel Fifty Shades Freed (2018) ultimately began on February 9, 2016, in Paris and Vancouver, and concluded on April 11, 2016. Danny Elfman, who had scored the first film, returned to compose the score for its sequel.
Fifty Shades Darker premiered in Hamburg, Germany on February 7, 2017, and was released in the United States on February 10, by Universal Pictures. The film grossed over $380 million worldwide against its $55 million budget, despite receiving generally negative reviews for its screenplay, acting and narrative, though some of the performance received some praise. At the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, the film received nine nominations; including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Dornan) and Worst Actress (Johnson), and won two for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel, and Worst Supporting Actress (Basinger).[4]
Plot[edit]
After Anastasia Steele left Christian Grey, he has nightmares about his abusive childhood. Meanwhile, Ana begins a new job as an assistant to Jack Hyde, an editor at Seattle Independent Publishing (SIP) whose last three assistants all quit within only 18 months without notice. Ana runs into Christian at the opening of her friend José Rodriguez's photography exhibit. She is dismayed Christian bought all of José's portraits of her. He wants her back and agrees to her "no rules, no punishments, and no more secrets" terms. He also tells her that his birth mother was a crack-addicted sex worker.
As Jack and Ana head for an after-work drink, she is approached on the street by a young woman resembling her. Christian arrives at the bar and is cool towards Jack, then quickly departs with Ana. She dismisses Christian's warning about his reputation, and is annoyed that he is considering buying SIP. Jack tells Ana he expects her to accompany him on a New York book expo trip, but after speaking with Christian, she agrees not to go. Shortly after, Ana again sees the same woman watching them from afar. Christian avoids answering about her identity, but later explains she is Leila Williams, a former submissive. After their contract ended, she wanted more, but he didn't. Leila married a man who later died, causing a nervous breakdown. She has been stalking him ever since. Prior to the Grey family's annual charity ball, Christian takes Ana to Esclava, a beauty salon owned by Elena Lincoln. A family friend, she is also Christian's former dominant who introduced him to the BDSM lifestyle by sexually assaulting him when he was a minor. Ana is furious that Christian took her there, and that they are business partners after all that. At the ball, Christian's sister Mia mentions that he was expelled from four different schools for brawling.
Christian tells Ana that his biological mother overdosed and died. He was alone with her body for three days before being taken to the hospital where Dr. Grace Trevelyan-Grey worked; she cared for and later adopted the young boy. During the ball, Ana rebuffs Elena's demand that she leave Christian, warning Elena to stay away. Arriving home, she and Christian discover Leila has vandalized Ana's car. When Ana tells Jack she won't be attending the expo with him, he attempts to sexually assault her while they are alone at work, but she evades him and escapes. Christian exerts his influence to have Jack fired, and Ana is promoted to acting editor in his place. Christian asks Ana to move in with him and she agrees.
At Ana's apartment, Leila, there waiting for her, threatens her with a gun. Christian and his driver/bodyguard, Jason Taylor, enter and Christian disarms Leila by becoming her dominant once more. Ana, deeply disturbed seeing his need to be dominant, leaves, returning several hours later to his apartment. Christian is furious at her unexpected absence, but Ana needs time to consider their relationship. He, distraught at the idea of Ana leaving him, submissively drops to his knees, confessing he is not a dominant, but a sadist who enjoys hurting women who look like his birth mother (like Ana). He insists he wants to change. Christian later proposes, but Ana needs time to consider this before accepting.
Christian leaves on a business trip, piloting his own helicopter. An engine failure occurs over Mt. St. Helens, forcing him to ditch the craft in a heavily forested area. A massive search and rescue ensues. As Ana fearfully awaits news, he arrives home safely. Ana, realizing how much she loves him, accepts his marriage proposal. At Christian's birthday, Elena accuses Ana of being a gold digger. Ana orders her to stop interfering. Christian overhears and dismissively tells Elena she taught him "how to fuck" while Ana taught him "how to love". Grace overhears the conversation and demands Elena leave for good; Christian also cuts all ties with her. Later that evening, Christian formally proposes to Ana, this time with a ring, and she accepts. As fireworks erupt in the sky, Jack Hyde watches the festivities from afar, silently swearing revenge against them.
Release[edit]
Marketing[edit]
On September 15, 2016, Universal released the film's first official trailer, which amassed an unprecedented 114 million views in its first 24 hours, from various digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. It received more than 2.5 million views on the film's official Facebook page. Over 39.4 million views came from North America, while 74.6 million views came from over 32 international markets, including the U.K., Mexico and France. This broke the previous record, held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, when it received 112 million views in the same amount of time in October 2015.[35] The record was later surpassed by the second trailer for Disney's Beauty and the Beast, with 127.6 million views in November 2016.[36]
Rating[edit]
On November 10, 2016, the sequel was given an R rating by the MPAA for "strong erotic sexual content, some graphic nudity and language."[37]
In Canada, the film was classified under 18A for its sexual content in all provinces except Quebec.[38][39][40][41][42][43] In Quebec, which has a different rating system, it was classified under 16+ for its "eroticism".[44] In the United Kingdom, the film was given an 18 certificate for "strong sex".[1]
In the Philippines, the film received an R-18 rating from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), which means that only moviegoers aged 18 years and above can watch the film, due to its strong sexual content.[45][46]
In New Zealand, the film was originally rated R18 along with Fifty Shades of Grey, however in 2019 the film was lowered to R16 for sex scenes, offensive language & nudity.
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Fifty Shades Darker grossed $114.5 million in the United States and Canada and $266.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $381.1 million, against a production budget of $55 million.[3]
In the United States and Canada, Fifty Shades Darker opened alongside two other sequels, The Lego Batman Movie and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross $32–40 million in its opening weekend.[49][50] It earned $5.72 million from Thursday night previews at 3,120 theaters, down from the $8.6 million grossed by its predecessor two years prior, but still the sixth-best Thursday preview gross for an R-rated film. The film made $21.5 million on Friday, down 30% from the first film's $30 million opening day, but topped the box office that day. It went on to debut to $46.6 million, down 45% from the first film's $85.1 million, and finished second at the box office behind The Lego Batman Movie ($53.0 million).[51] The film grossed $11 million on Valentine's Day, marking the second-highest amount for when the holiday fell on a weekday, behind The Vow ($11.6 million in 2012), and bringing its five-day gross to $61.5 million.[52] In its second weekend, the film grossed $20.3 million, again finishing second at the box office behind The Lego Batman Movie. This marked a 56.5% drop from its first weekend gross, and was only $2 million behind the amount the first film grossed in its second weekend ($22.3 million), only that marked a drop of 73.9% from its respective debut.[53] In its third weekend, it grossed $7.7 million, dropping to 5th at the box office.[54]
Outside North America, the film was simultaneously released in 57 countries, and was expected to gross $115–155 million over its first three days.[2] It ended up grossing $97.8 million in its opening weekend, the fourth largest R-rated international opening of all-time. Its top grossing locations included Germany ($11 million), the United Kingdom ($9.7 million), France ($8.7 million), Brazil ($7.5 million), Italy ($6.8 million), and Russia ($6.7 million).[55]
Critical response[edit]
Much like its predecessor, Fifty Shades Darker received negative reviews from critics, who criticized its screenplay, narrative and Dornan's and Johnson's performances.[56] On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 11% based on 206 reviews, with an average rating of 3.23/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Lacking enough chemistry heat or narrative friction to satisfy, the limp Fifty Shades Darker wants to be kinky but only serves as its own form of punishment."[57] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[58] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, an improvement over the "C+" earned by its predecessor, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 82% overall positive score and a 68% "definite recommend".[51]
Richard Roeper gave the film two out of four stars, saying: "This is one good-looking, occasionally titillating, mostly soapy and dull snooze-fest."[59] Vince Mancini of Uproxx acknowledged the film's flaws, but said watching the film was enjoyable, noting, "Narrative sloppiness aside, as an outsider, sitting through Fifty Shades Darker was a reasonably diverting experience, odd, dumb fun made even more fun by an audience that whooped and shouted at the screen during sex scenes. I didn't really get it, but I enjoyed the feeling of them having fun, though at two hours plus, it's a bit of a slog."[60]
Manohla Dargis writing for The New York Times expressed similar ambiguous opinions regarding the content of the film, stating: