I saw the movie with Kim Basinger well over two decades ago and thought it was largely boring and vanilla. Moreover, I truly wasn’t sure what the movie was ABOUT. Two people sleeping together without too much individual disclosure is surely not that unusual.
Reading the original book the movie is based on was very revealing and frankly much better than the movie. I understand they had to keep it acceptable for the 80’s audience but they stripped the story of the fundamental aspect: control and consent (or the lack thereof.)
The book is wild for something written in late 70’s. It makes Fifty shades of grey look mild because it is not this over the top fantasy but instead it is a RAW and humsn story of two very broken, flawed people who end up practicing BDSM for the wrong reason like many people in real life.
I believe it largely happened as described. The story feels very authentic, a genuine. The reason I say it is because I myself experienced something nowhere near this crazy, but the feelings that she put on the paper resonated with me deeply.
I’m convinced she has a borderline personality disorder, and she left out the part that in her real life she has just gone through a divorce. From a psychological standpoint, this provides a lot of insight.
She never said who the guy is or was, we know nothing about his childhood, past or future once she is committed to a psychiatric hospital. Reading it, you know that this is just bound not to end well.
I wasn’t fascinated or a turned on by any of the sex scenes, I felt more of a sorrow and pity reading it because she has absolutely no idea what she’s doing and she’s being hopelessly abused, and manipulated by a master manipulator who is probably revealing far less about who he really is in spite of their seemingly endless conversations.
He is a despicable character not because he likes BDSM, but because of how he treats her.
If this was rewritten from an empowerment standpoint of a modern female, with absolute certainty about consent, it might be a hot summer adventure. The truth is, it’s a sad tale about a woman with attachment issues who latches onto a sexually compatible man as someone who she falls madly in love with and says has never loved anyone else more, not realizing she hasn’t the slightest idea who he really is in spite of snooping in his apartment and chatting about his day.
It’s not love. It’s hope and validation that comes at a super steep price.
Anyway, if you come across a copy, I recommend reading it with sober eyes and blunted expectations. It’s worth it as a cautionary tale of pathological, abusive relationships. I don’t think the author ever realized how toxic the relationship was…
by lingeringneutrophil