Rent Darker Shades of Elise (2017)

A film rip-off so terrible, you wonder how it even got released (watched on Amazon Prime) - Darker Shades of Elise review by TB

When Fifty Shades was released and went on to massive commercial success (but definitely not critical...) there would always have been many people lined up to cash in on the phenomenon. To me, this film was the result of the producers looking at that situation and going "How can we spend the least amount with the lowest-charging actors and production team, to try and strike gold?" But even with that goal, this barrel-scraping exercise breaks new ground.

This film is terrible. Awfully shot, atrocious acting, just garbage. And it's actually embarrassing to watch. You can hear the terrible acoustics and echoes in every room. The cameras are literally only slightly better than the standard ones you would use to shoot your holiday with.

But the worst thing about this film truly are the performances. Whether it's the delivering of lines so flat & unenthusiastically that listening to someone read a gas bill would be more interesting, through to the scenes of intimacy. The whole point of acting, especially in sex scenes, is to lose yourself & "be in the moment." And everything collapses the second you look awkward or uncomfortable. So when you are the lead starring in a film about extreme sexual transgression, and during the intimacy you either look awkward the entire time or even worse, have a surge of confidence that literally vanishes on camera, it is toe-curling to witness.

There is a scene a little way into the film where the photographer Felix first seduces Elise. And literally halfway through the scene, you see the uncomfortableness suddenly appear on the actress's face/body language, as if the penny has dropped and she's thinking "I'm involved in a sleazy Fifty Shades knock-off on a cheap set, whilst degrading myself in front of a load of film crew and the finished movie will mainly be watched by dirty old men."

As much as I appreciate that Becca Hirani signed up for this, I do feel quite sorry for her in one way: hardly anyone goes into acting to star in a terrible film. And especially when it comes to these types of scenes, of course they aren't easy. But when even you yourself look embarrassed to be starring as the lead in this film, it's time to either fire your agent or try your hand at something else.