Category: Fifty Shades Freed

Ana (Dakota Johnson) accepts Christian’s (Jaime Dornan) marriage proposal.

FIFTY SHADES FREED

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

Nothing not to love in the final stage of “Fifty Shades Freed.” Everyone loves beautiful weddings, fantastic honeymoons in Paris and the French Riviera, then on to the setting of boundaries in a very modern marriage.

I think that some very important points are made in light of today’s male and female relations.

Personally, I know some women, who have had a marriage, but now seek to prolong the dating stage as long as they can, then instead of committing, they go on to the next lover.

You know who you are ladies, usually blond with a tattoo close to their breasts, who are not willing to trade bliss for a pile of dirty dishes.

Important marriage points in “Fifty Shades Freed”:

The wife gets to keep having an exciting career and her own money after marriage. Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is a book editor, thanks to Christian Grey’s (Jaime Dornan) courting gesture. After marriage, she seeks his respect for her authority at work.

The husband does not get to take out his frustrations or anger on his wife in the bedroom. Christian is frustrated that Ana does not go straight home after work. Instead, she chooses to spend time with her friends. She makes it clear to him that she does get to have friends.

The husband does not get to turn to other women as a sounding board. He needs to communicate with his wife, instead. (Spoiler alert) Christian does not react well, when Ana tells him that she is pregnant. She reminds him that they are in this together. This is not something that involves other women.

The wife may choose to retain her maiden name for professional reasons. Ana is now Mrs. Grey, but at work, she retains the name of Anastasia Steele. Ana asks Christian to respect this.

The wife gets to retain her friends. Ana sets this boundary early. She does not intend to go home to keep the dirty dishes company.

The wife gets to do what every other woman is doing on the French Riviera. Europeans are not so prudish about exposed breasts. In fact, some circles believe that tightly constricted breasts, may lead to breast cancer.

The wife gets to spoil her man in the kitchen, and he gets to spoil her back, by learning how to cook. Ana has mastered the perfect steak, the least that Christian can do is turn out a decent pasta.

The wife needs to learn how to set boundaries for other designing women in her husband’s life. (Spoiler alert) Ana lets a female architect know that when on the job, she needs to dress and act in a more respectful manner. Also, the architect does not get to demolish a home that Ana thinks is beautiful.

The wife needs to be strong, smart, capable of making quick decisions and is well able to defend herself. (Spoiler alert) Ana takes a hand gun and the bank official’s phone, which requires a lot of thinking on her feet, in a very tight and dangerous situation.

And, last but not least, the husband needs to learn to trust his wife and needs to learn how to express his feelings. (Spoiler alert) Christian is not able to cry, but in this one scene, he does manage to cry. Well, almost. I got the impression that they both laughed their heads off, while trying to do this scene, and the best they could do was to fake it. No close ups of Christian’s eyes, which would have made this scene. Too bad.

If you can think of anything else that belongs on this list, please let me know.