I remember why I don’t like the Oscars period. Because most of the nominated films are slow burning dramas.
Regardless, shooting the movie in Greece was probably one of the best choices director Maggie Gyyllandendonhall could have made, as some places look fine. The story is also nice, but sometimes there’s an excess of filler conversation, seeming it tries to stretch every encounter and dialogue, going from being realistic to the point of boring.
The flashbacks are very nice, though, showing the back-story of the main character, making you empathize with her. I kind of liked more those than the film itself. The Academy critics must have thought the same, as Jessie Buckley got a well deserved nomination for her role as Young Leda.
The movie is not bad, but I didn’t consider it to be something to write home about. Maybe the performances given by Ed Harris and Dakota Johnson made it a bit more bearable, but it still is an average movie, to watch on a rainy Sunday. It’s funny how they try to objectify Dakota Johnson in pretty much every movie she appears in, but I still find her as cute as a work day.
In the end, the movie redeems itself, and while it doesn’t have a plot twist or whatever, it closes on an optimist note.
This movie has got some Oscar Nominations, but it will face fierce competition.
