How the ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Movie Compares to the Scandalous, Just-As-Sexy Book – The Surprising Truth Revealed!

Adapting any book for the big screen is a challenging feat as they are two completely different mediums. What works on paper may not translate to the screen. While some go for an ‘in name only’ sort of approach, most adaptations try to stay faithful to the source material, but it isn’t always possible to do so. Such is the case with Fifty Shades of Grey. Due to the novel being an erotic romance novel, there are very explicit scenes in the book that simply could not be put on screen. But aside from the copious amounts of sex scenes, what else was changed when Fifty Shades of Grey hit the big screen?

Ana’s Inner Goddess is (Thankfully) Cut From the Movie

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) serves as our narrator in Fifty Shades of Grey, and in the novel, we are often shown her inner thoughts during certain situations (often sexual ones). This is referred to as Ana’s “inner goddess” and it’s easily one of the most irritating parts of the novel for how repetitive it is without actually adding any substance. Thankfully, any mention of Ana’s inner goddess is cut from the movie. This is likely just for practicality, since it would be hard to portray that on screen, but it’s still a win nonetheless.

The Contract is More In-Depth and Problematic in the Book

Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) presents Ana with a BDSM contract when they first begin their relationship. It’s a huge part of both the book and the movie as it details all the expectations he has for her as his submissive. In the book Ana goes over each entry in detail, vetoing as she goes, which makes the entire thing take a few days to go through. But in the movie, she doesn’t do quite such heavy research, and she and Christian talk through it together in one night. This is partly because the movie contract is much more toned down in the things Christian asks of Ana. The book had Christian asking for near-total control over Ana’s autonomy through the contract, which was thankfully nixed in the movie.

The contract doesn’t just touch on the sexual aspects of their relationship though; in the book Christian also has strict guidelines about Ana’s diet and workout regime. He gives her an approved list of foods she can eat, forbids her from snacking, and hooks her up with a personal trainer who will give Christian progress reports. Yuck! Thankfully, the movie cut all of this, because the blatant body-shaming and weird obsession Christian has with Ana’s eating habits is uncomfortable, and would have done the movie zero favors had it been included. There was enough taboo surrounding it at the time as it was.

Elena and Christian’s Friendship is a Big Focus of the Book

In Fifty Shades of Grey, we learn that Christian was repeatedly sexually assaulted by his mother’s friend Elena (Kim Basinger) – who Ana refers to as Mrs. Robinson – from the ages of 15 to 21. She was also the one who introduced him to BDSM. It’s a sickening and gut-wrenching storyline, both on page and on screen. However, in the book, we learn that their relationship is still disturbingly close. They have a business together, which is true in the movie as well, but in the books, Christian regularly meets with her to talk. Granted, this is a big arc for Christian that he works through throughout the books, but their “friendship” is sort of glorified in the books.

Thankfully, this isn’t the case in the movies as much. Obviously, it’s still a storyline because it needs to be for Christian’s character. But in the movies Christian doesn’t meet with Elena nearly as many times as he does in the book, and she really only shows up for big scenes that require her presence, such as the dinner scene in the first movie, and the masquerade ball in the second.

Christian Has a Therapist in the Books

One baffling change the movie made was cutting Christian’s therapist Dr. Flynn. In the books, Christian regularly sees a therapist, and it’s specifically noted to Ana because he says he only ever speaks vulnerably with his therapist and Elena. This was likely cut for time, but it’s a strange choice to cut these scenes because they’re so pivotal to understanding Christian’s character. It’s easy to watch the film and see him as cold and cruel, but knowing he sees a therapist and that there is a reason for how he acts at times adds a level of nuance that was sorely missing from the films.

Controversial Book Scenes Were Cut

For the most part, Fifty Shades of Grey stays pretty faithful to its source material, but there are some controversial scenes that were nixed when adapting for the big screen. These include the Ben-Wa Balls and the infamously gross tampon scene. Truly, the biggest change is that the movie is surprisingly tame in comparison to the book, which was a surprise to the avid readers who knew what was in store, but a delight to those going to see the film in a crowded theater.