From Urban to softerotica: The remarkable career of Sam Taylor-Wood/Johnson

The critical commotion that has surrounded the film adaptation of the book Fifty shades of grey by E.L. James seems to focus mainly on the well-behaved tameness of the final product. Something that contrasts with the supposedly edgy nature of the book, where a virginal young woman allows herself to be sexually initiated by a rich SM yuppie. Film critic Antony Lane summed up the film's flaws perfectly in his witty and entertaining review in the New Yorker:

"Think of it as the Downton Abbey of bondage, designed neither to menace nor to offend but purely to cosset the fatigued imagination. You get dirtier talk in most action movies, and more genitalia in a TED talk on Renaissance sculpture."

Interestingly, you read little in the press about director Sam Taylor-Johnson's curious background. She made a name for herself as an artist when she was still going through life as Sam Taylor-Wood. She belonged to a later batch of that group of trendy provocateurs that would be known in England as Young British Artists (YBA). The group produced controversial art superstars such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst. At the time, Sam Taylor-Wood made slick but confrontational photographs and films. In 2002, her work was shown at the Stedelijk, including her striking self-portrait with a stuffed hare.

For Sam Taylor-Wood, it was a small step to the world of fame. Elton John was an admirer and collector of her work. For him, she directed a cheesy music video in 2001 in which actor Robert Downey Jr. lip-synched the song 'I Want Love'.

Like other British artists, she also ventured into a film career. That move has had mixed results. For instance, who has heard of Tracey Emin's film Top Spot (2004)? By contrast, Steve McQueen managed to maintain his impressive Hunger (2008) to follow up with Shame (2011) about a man addicted to sex but unable to make emotional connections. A film more explicit and daring in its style and content than 50 Shades of Grey. His last film, Twelve years a slave (2013), was widely praised.

McQueen's artistic success contrasts sharply with Taylor-Wood's more commercial aesthetic. Before 50 Shades of Grey she did make her debut with the sympathetic biopic Nowhere Boy (2009) about the boyhood of John Lennon. There she met actor Aaron Johnson, who convincingly portrayed the young Beatle. They became a couple and then Wood disappeared and she became Sam Taylor-Johnson.

It is under that name that she will now go down in film history as the maker of a mediocre mainstream sex film that has become a phenomenon. 50 Shades of Grey has already broken records in terms of pre-sales. And despite critics shifting between mediocre and bad in their assessment, the film has been a success with audiences. Taylor-Johnson, however, will not be making the sequels to the franchise. It turns out that during the production of the film, there was already major disagreement with author E.L. James. Apparently, James felt that the film was not explicit enough. From the Urban, it seems only a small step towards the brave mainstream anyway.