During its opening weekend, “Fifty Shades of Grey” grossed $94.4 million nationally and hit $266 million globally. I am pleased to discover that, despite this, the new film maintains a steady four out of 10 ranking on both Rotten Tomatoes and Internet Movie Database.

I would normally applaud a film that not only has a female director but is aimed at a largely female demographic. Because we’re talking about this film in particular, however, I have no choice but to boycott.

Though I have never read the trilogy by E.L. James and never plan to, I’ve read enough reviews, detailed book synopses and excerpts from them to gain a good understanding. I have also talked with friends who read the books and looked at professional news sources or studies covering the novels. All of these have led me to my decision.

I am boycotting for many reasons, most notable of which is that the books the film is based on glorify and perpetuate domestic and sexual violence.

According to critics, quite a few other issues contribute to the four out of 10 rating, including the following: The movie is based upon a poorly written novel and while the actors lack chemistry, the movie itself lacks any real plot.

USA Today film critic Claudia Puig calls the dialogue, which is based on the book, “laughable,” and is only one of many writers from publications like the Washington Post, the Atlantic and the Seattle Times who mention the book’s subpar writing.

Star Tribune columnist Colin Covert pointed out the stilted relationship between the movie’s stars, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, in his critique.

“The central problem of the movie’s many shortcomings is that there is absolutely no chemistry between the stars,” Covert said. “Throughout their publicity tour before the film’s release, Dornan and Johnson gave the impression they utterly despise each other.”

One-star reviews on IMDb hail the movie as “dreadful,” “a whole lot of nothing” and “100 shades of terrible.”

Ideas I’ve learned in classes, in addition to these type of reviews, support my view of “Fifty Shades.”

The four main types of intimate partner violence, covered in a lab from my women’s medicine and biology course last semester, are psychological/emotional violence, physical violence, sexual violence and threats of physical or sexual violence.

A study in the Journal of Women’s Health on the abuse and harmed identity in “Fifty Shades of Grey” found that while the physical and sexual violence are veiled in a cloak of so-called “romance” and a strict contract, emotional violence and threats abound in the dynamic between the two main characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele.

Warning signs a person may be an abuser, of which there are many, are calling or emailing constantly; engaging in frequent surprise visits; expecting a partner to be perfect, obedient and dependent; isolating a partner from friends and family; and switching moods suddenly (for example, going from violent to sweet).

Active signs of an abuser include the following: when a person constantly monitors what his or her partner is doing, prevents or discourages the partner from seeing friends or family, controls a partner’s birth control and decides things for the partner that the partner should be able to decide, such as food or clothing choices.

The study concludes that Christian Grey, who is widely considered a heartthrob, does all of these.

The actor who plays Christian, Jamie Dornan, made it clear he does not like his character. In an interview with The Irish Times, an Irish newspaper, Dornan said, “He’s not my kind of guy. I don’t like the idea of someone telling a girl what she should eat and how much she should exercise and all that stuff. That’s not right. Obviously.”

Obviously.

The Journal of Women’s Health study found emotional abuse present in almost every interaction between the two main characters in the books.

The study cites several examples of stalking, including the fact that Christian, within a week after meeting Ana, shows up where she works in Portland … 173 miles away from his office in Seattle where they first met. Stalking is also apparent in how he uses Ana’s cell phone and computer (that he bought for her) to track her whereabouts.

Christian also uses intimidation tactics, according to the study. He commands Ana to eat and regularly threatens to punish her (which he gets away with due to a clever, seemingly “sexy” contract).

The study also notes Ana is frequently upset over Christian’s behavior and must resort to lying about meeting her mother or others in order to avoid his anger. These are common responses of victims in abusive relationships.

The Journal of Women’s Health study also found sexual violence rampant in the novel and film. James uses the world of BDSM to excuse this violence, and while I’m staying away from talking about the actual sex in the story, it’s important to note that it is a convoluted representation of the lifestyle. A simple Google search reveals that BDSM emphasizes safe, sane and consensual as its motto – three practices Christian’s character ignores.

Some examples of sexual violence cited in the study are when Christian used alcohol to compromise Ana’s consent, disregarded a safe word and dismissed Ana’s boundaries.

Dornan shows clear confusion over the movie’s success.

“Mass appreciation doesn’t always equate to something good,” he said in an interview with Elle Magazine. “Think of Hitler! But I think, in this case, it must. It simply must. There’s got to be merit in it if so many people agree.”

If there is, Dornan can’t find it and neither can I.

Jamie Bernard can be reached at bern2479@stthomas.edu.