As a comparison, one could describe it as a combination of the magnetic string writing from documentary scores like The Unknown Known or Standard Operating Procedure, coupled with the more contemporary pop sounds heard in scores like Taking Woodstock and Silver Linings Playbook. Taking inspiration from this, Elfman’s score is filled with simple lines, stripped-down orchestrations that emphasize rhythm and instrumental color over recurring themes, and contains a slight sense of coolness and disconnect that tries to capture the not-quite romantic relationship between Christian and Ana.Įlfman uses an instrumental palette featuring a string orchestra, piano, electric and acoustic guitars courtesy of George Doering and Bryce Jacobs, metallic percussion items, and a modern rock drum set. The final film might not quite reach the lofty heights the filmmakers had in mind – you can only do so much when your source material is as awful as Fifty Shades’s is – but you can certainly see where they wanted to go with it. The film has a clean, impressive visual style that emphasizes a particular color palette and contemporary architecture. The screenwriter, Kelly Marcel, has a pedigree that includes the screenplay for Saving Mr. The film’s director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, has been a critically acclaimed fine art photographer for years, and is a contemporary of fellow groundbreaking British artists such as Tracy Emin and Damien Hirst.

That a film like this should get a score by Danny Elfman is, on first impressions, unusual, but when you consider the film’s pseudo-highbrow intentions – which stand at odds with its salacious origins – it actually makes perfect sense. The film is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, stars Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson in the lead roles, and has a score by Danny Elfman. There is an immediate and fiery attraction between the shy, inexperienced Ana and the confident, intense Christian, and the pair begins a relationship, but there is a twist in the tale: Christian’s sexuality involves a healthy dose of kink, and before long he is introducing Ana to his world of BDSM – bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism. The story involves literature student Anastasia Steele, who is asked by her roommate to interview a handsome young billionaire, Christian Grey, for their university newspaper. A badly written ‘romance’ novel originally conceived as a piece of Twilight fan fiction, the story somehow became an unstoppable phenomenon, despite receiving scathing reviews from every respected literary critic, catapulting author EL James onto Time Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012, and bringing bondage into the mainstream.

Fifty Shades of Grey is one of the most unexpected cultural touchstones of recent years.

Fifty shades of grey music