xxx
“Fifty Shades Darker,” the “Fifty Shades of Grey” sequel that chronicles the relationship between a budding journalist and a damaged business scion with an affection for whips and chains, is released in the United States today.
In her review for The New York Times, the critic Manohla Dargis deemed the movie, based on the novels of E. J. James, “almost bad enough to recommend.” But not quite bad enough, it appears. (Read her review here.)
If that seems short of a ringing endorsement, here’s a roundup of other kinky movies you can catch if you want to scratch an itch for kink:
Photo
Catherine Deneuve in “Belle de Jour.” Credit Plaza Production International
‘Belle de Jour’ (1967)
Luis Buñuel’s meditation on bottled-up desire caused a stir when it opened in Europe and the United States: The movie centers on Séverine, a French housewife who, out of boredom and frustration with her husband, dabbles in prostitution in the afternoons. The edgiest bits are Séverine’s fantasies, which include being tethered to a tree. (Read Renata Adler’s review here.)
Photo
Dirk Bogarde as a former SS officer who shares a dark past with Charlotte Rampling in Liliana Cavani’s “The Night Porter.” Credit The Criterion Collection
‘The Night Porter’ (1974)
Charlotte Rampling stars as a Holocaust survivor who, more than a decade after the war, rekindles a sexual relationship with the man who tortured her in a concentration camp. Maybe unsurprisingly, this Italian movie, directed by Liliana Cavani, stirred some controversy (and mixed reviews) when it was released. (Read Nora Sayre’s review here.)
Raucous sex appears pretty frequently in Pedro Almodóvar’s movies, but nowhere more explicitly than in this bondage comedy. The movie follows a man, played by Antonio Banderas, who ties up a woman in her home, sure that she’ll fall in love with him if she can just stay put for a while. (By the time the pair eventually re-consummates, the rope’s come off). (Read Vincent Canby’s review here.)
‘Crash’ (1996)
David Cronenberg’s film (not to be confused with Paul Haggis’s Los Angeles-focused 2005 film of the same name, which won the Oscar for best picture) centers on a couple with a fading sex life, who discover a mutual sexual interest in fender benders. The movie has a happy ending, of sorts: The leads rejuvenate their bedroom chemistry by bringing themselves to the brink of death in a vehicular accident. (Read Janet Maslin’s review here.)
Photo
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 film, '‘Eyes Wide Shut.’' Credit Warner Brothers Pictures
‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999)
Stanley Kubrick, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise raised eyebrows (and pulses) around the world with this movie, about a couple with a lagging love life, who get roped into a high-powered underground sex ring in New York. After its release, the movie became instantly known for a memorable masked orgy. (Read Ms. Maslin’s review here.)
