I didn’t read the book, but saw the movie…
All it was is a depiction of a damaged child/man who can’t connect in love, therefore, uses control and domination through sex to make himself feel. He projects his damage and pain through punishment onto women in order to escape his own.
It was more sad than sexy. In fact, nothing about it was sensual or sexy. There are more and more people today who are damaged as this man is depicted, who can’t look at self long enough to heal, who go from person to person focusing on sexuality for escape, thrill and the high and even when given the chance at connecting with a loving person is too emotionally damaged and fearful of becoming vulnerable to connect.
Love, passion and commitment are what makes sex, sexy. Sure games can be fun and taking it to individual fantasies and edges can be exciting on occasion, but that in itself means nothing and lasts less than that. Most mature adults recognize and understand this, immature, inexperienced youth won’t and don’t and some will see this movie as ‘cool’ showing things to try before they are emotionally and sexually developed which can then lead to distorting their perceptions of sex and love.
I found nothing sexy about this movie. I found it pretty boring and blah. The actors while attractive had no chemistry and that is another aspect that makes sex, sexy… chemistry along with personality.
To me, this was a psychological study of an emotionally damaged man.
At least, in the movie, she left him. I think so anyway. I exited to the ladies’ room several times, I was so bored. But he soiled an inexperienced and pure person to his perversions.
Now, what would have made it interesting is, had love been able to break through his damage and pain, to break him open to real love. But he was too damaged, weak and fearful, just like some in the world who can’t commit and focus on sex, instead of love, emotions and feelings.
I have no idea what all the ‘to do’ was about this story. I found it mundanely dull. I know that’s redundant but so was the movie.
Why women like it, might it be that the thought, idea and fantasy of a ‘powerful/successful’ man taking control in the bedroom, and, or in their life, might be appealing because now days, so many men seem to have lost their manhood and are looking for a mother. And a man looking for a mother has no sex appeal. But in actuality, the sad, damaged man in the movie needed to be mothered, in orde,r to heal and possibly be able to love.
In a real enduring relationship, each person plays all the roles of male/female respectively… as in intimacy, healing, growth, vulnerablity, empathy, strength, weakness, sex, sensuality, child, parent, teacher, student, lead, follower, depending on time, place and circumstance, etc..
Nothing is more sensual and sexy than an emotionally strong man who can take control in the bedroom, but ‘control’ is a shared two-way experience and a man who is too weak and insecure to let a woman take the lead to balance out the experiences is not sexy for long.
In my opinion, there were not many shades of grey in this movie, there was only one and it was blah!
