Spoilers ahead for those who didn’t watch it:
Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character Lee in that movie was young, like in her early 20s. Some suggests she is fresh out of high school when she started working for James Spader’s character Mr. Grey. Mr. Grey was a man in his mid 30s. I mean did no one see the power imbalance and grooming? How is this movie a romantic movie? I saw this movie few days ago and it just shows Mr. Grey grooming Lee who had a traumatic childhood and had tendency to self-harm. Not to mention when he spanked her, he did this without her consent. At the end of the movie he left her in his office and told her not to move. She didn’t move because she sees Grey as some kind of savior or God in her life. Like is classic grooming and manipulation. He let her rot in his office for several days while disappeared. He kept her on a strict diet. I mean did nobody saw the abuse in this movie? How was this even greenlit in the first place? Am I the only one who saw this movie as problematic rather than romantic?