Before you start, I'm not 'one of those women' who bashed the book and the film, without even bloody reading and watching it. These women just kept judging it so stuff them.
I LOVE THE BOOK. Even though a lot of it is grammatically wrong. I am too, so that's okay.
I love it because of the storyline, not because of the sex scenes and BDSM. The sex bit is meh. I'm a romantic at heart and how their love story develops is sweet.
So I have watched the film now aaaaaannnnnddd...... yeah, I prefer the book. SHOCK.
The film does show most of the book but I'm disappointed with it because it doesn't show the little bits that would have made sense in the film and to those who have not read the book. It was also quite slow moving. I didn't watch it with my parents because I'm in a different city but apparently my dad was falling asleep in it.
SPOILERS ALERT!!! If you have not seen the film but want to, gooooo awwwwaaaay.
Little Bits That Sam Taylor-Johnson (director) missed out (not in order either):
- Obviously one (not little) is the actors. Okay acting, but they looked nothing like how I or others imagined them to be. I fancied the pants off Christian Grey in the book. Copper hair that dangled on his face. Chiseled jaw. Straight nose. Very, very buff. The actor that plays him is Jamie Dornan. Yeah, I find him good looking in some angles. When I watched him in the film, I just didn't fancy him. I wanted to but it never happened. He looked nothing like Mr. Grey. As for the girl, she did look like Anastasia Steele but not who I had in my head of course. Also she's meant to have long, curly hair - not straight, greasy hair. Their chemistry was awkward. Actually, there wasn't any chemistry. It didn't feel convincing, it needs to feel real on and off screen (like Mr and Mrs Smith for example, you could feel the lust and bond).
- In the film, Ana drunk calls Christian and he asks her where she is and she hangs up. He calls again seconds later and tells her to stay where she was because he was coming for her. It shows the actress confused, leaves the club and Jose tries to kiss her and Christian suddenly turns up. The film doesn't show how Christian knows where Ana is at all times. In the book, he hires someone called Welch, who investigates in people's background for Christian, which is how he knows where she works, her number, her mother's address in Georgia. He also tracks her down on her phone (GPS) and installs tracking devices in his cars. She can never escape.
- After Christian and Ana has had sex (using a condom), in the book she gets on the Contraceptive Pill by Christian's doctor, Dr. Greene. When he said it in the film, it was very quiet and I only knew what he just said because of the book. Also, the scene was done differently. In the book when she's on the Pill, she has to wait weeks until they can have sex otherwise she'll get pregnant and that the idea of waiting is what made it good in the book. I guess in the film, they didn't have much time for waiting since the sex scenes is what makes the film sell.
- Ana's bloody flip phone in the film! In the book, Christian gives her a Blackberry to use but for some reason, Christian has an iPhone and Ana has a flip phone from the year 2005. Seriously? Why couldn't she get an iPhone too, if he can get her a Macbook? The phone is important because they contact each other through email regularly and also using the computer to contact Christian during work gets her into trouble so phone all the way. Hopefully, she'll get one in the second film. Hope it gets better altogether tbh.
- In the film, when Ana and Christian are breaking up (it came so suddenly as well), it just shows them talking in a heated discussion, he takes her to Red Room to show her how bad it can get, he slaps her with the belt, she cries, tells him she loves him, he doesn't say it back, then she packs her things, brings the gifts he bought for her and gives it back, then she gets to the lift, he follows her, she tells him to stop and then gets into the lift and they say, "Christian", "Anastasia". The end. It was such a poor ending. In the book, before he spanks her hard with what is described as a really thick, brown belt (which it wasn't in the film), he plays the piano like usual, and they start playing with each other like children. She runs around a table, like catch me if you can game, he says he'll catch her and punish her for running away. They do show the bit in the film where she says how much she hates being punished, like how he hates being touched. Then when she does say she loves him and he couldn't believe it, she tells him to leave so she can have a shower. The book says that while they were in Georgia visiting Ana's mother, she bought Christian a toy plane as a gift. Before she leaves Christian's apartment, she places the gift on the pillow and walks to the lift. Christian shows more emotion in the book and tells her not to leave. Then there's a scene where she's in the car, with Taylor driving her home, he hands her a handkerchief and she cries into that. And then I think, after, a shot of Christian looking out of the window and over Seattle. The film's ending seemed too abrupt and didn't convey Christian's emotions enough. Also that hanky appears again in the second book. Now, I mention that toy plane because Christian actually treasures Ana's gift to him and displays it as her iPad background (shown in book two), because I think, unless it's in the book, that no other sub or anyone has even given him a gift. Well, because he has everything.
- When Ana gets spanked by the brown belt near the end (in the film), she cries but she doesn't cry as much as it shows in the book. But I guess if the actress was really balling it out in the film, don't think she would have been able to get her words out properly.
- Also, I'm sure Ana gets a job in the first book and that's where we meet Jack Hyde, because in the beginning of the second book - Ana doesn't eat and only drinks Diet Coke because she's heartbroken. Plus Jack keeps being creepy at work. Also, Jack plays an important factor in piecing Christian Grey together - which is why WELCH is also important because he does some digging on Jack.
- We also haven't met Elena Lincoln yet. WHERE IS MRS ROBINSON?!
- Also, where is the lovely housekeeper?! UM, CAN'T REMEMBER HER NAME THOUGH.
- Near the beginning when Christian and Ana go for coffee, she says she doesn't like coffee and prefers tea with no milk and sugar. I feel this is important because he cares about her and her likes and dislikes. He remembers everything about her. But then again, he is a control freak. BUT, that symbolism of tea represents Britishness because her major was English Literature, therefore she's a romantic because of the British novels she studied. Sooooo, Christian knows she's a romantic and he learns to be more romantic for her because she likes flowers and stuff. Even though that not his style, mate.
- Another thing about Ana's character, Christian likes brunettes but he doesn't like girls who are naturally blonde and dyes their hair brunette. For the actress who plays Ana, she's naturally blonde but dyes her hair for a character that's supposed to be naturally brunette. Confusing. I know it's a film so I'll let that one go.
- Christian's little sister, Mia. In the book, she is very tall, hair goes from black to blonde, skinny, white and girly. In the film, they casted Rita Ora. Definitely wrong casting. Mia is meant to be quite young as well, and Rita looks late 20s, early 30s. Some people said she looked like a 'drag queen' when pictures were shown of her as Mia.
- We don't see any willies. Just saying.
- No mention of our beloved 'Inner Goddess' - then again it would be strange if Ana said she listens to a voice in her head.
- In the film, Christian keeps saying that he doesn't sleep with his 'subs', even though Ana was never one and they only showed him sleeping beside her once. It's a shame they didn't show him sleeping next to her more often because in the book, he doesn't sleep with the subs because he doesn't want that vanilla relationship. But when he accidentally slept next to Ana at her house, the next morning she asks him whether he had slept well, he replied that he did strangely. It's because when he sleeps alone, he has nightmares from his bad childhood but they don't stress this in the film. It just shows Ana complaining that he doesn't sleep in the same bed as her. Grrr.
- The beginning when he tracks her down and randomly appears in an aisle Ana is about to walk past. Don't like. In the book, he walks into Claytons store and sees Ana at the checkout till, sat down eating a cream cheese bagel. He watches her intently and her movement. It shows him like a predator, tracking her down and going after the prey. She then wipes the cream cheese from the corner of her mouth and sucks her thumb. It then says Christian's er, willy, tingles like a teenager. Basically, it shows how much he fancies her and how much he wants her.
- Obvs, they took out the Tampon scene. That's okay. We can leave that in the book.
