Summary The early release received mixed reviews
PARIS (Web Desk/AFP) - "Fifty Shades of Grey", the long-anticipated movie version of the bestselling novel began its worldwide rollout on Wednesday, with France one of the first to catch a glimpse.
The film, starring Jamie Dornan as a billionaire and Dakota Johnson as an innocent student who falls for him, is being marketed as a torrid touchstone for a generation too young to remember "9 1/2 Weeks" or "Last Tango in Paris".
While the official premiere was to take place late Wednesday at the Berlin film festival, movie theatres across France, Germany, Belgium, Serbia and the Philippines were already screening the picture from early in the day.
Most other countries were to show the movie from Thursday or -- in the case of key target market of the United States -- Friday. The release was timed for this weekend s Valentine s Day and was being heavily advertised as a perfect date movie.
- Mixed reviews -
At one of the first morning showings in Paris, however, several fans of the 2011 novel by British author E.L. James gave mixed responses.
"I was disappointed. I didn t think the actors or the script was up to the level of what was in the book," said one 70-year-old viewer who gave her first name as Christine.
A 20-year-old in the same audience, Elena Radu, said: "It s very good. The book was better, but the film is also good."
