Is Dakota Johnson Squandering Her ‘Fifty Shades’ Capital With ‘Suspiria’?

First of all: calm down. Suspiria is a better movie than 50 Shades of anything, and no matter how well (or not well) it performs in theaters, Dakota Johnson starring in the Suspiria remake will be something people talk about for a while. But in the five years since she stepped into the corset of Anastasia Steele and set America on erotic journey from Milan Seattle to Minsk suburban Seattle, Johnson has become a far more in-demand actress, poised to step onto the Hollywood A-List. Success like the 50 Shades films (all topped $100 million in the U.S., and it’s sure not Jamie Dornan who’s benefitting from the star-power bump) has given her a wealth of opportunity. Which is why it’s significant that she’s using that star capital to make art movies with Luca Guadagnino instead of, for example, anything that will make money.

This is not exactly a criticism. Guadagnino is one of the most interesting and exciting filmmakers working today. Both movies Johnson has made with him — 2016’s A Bigger Splash and the current Suspiria — have certainly helped her grow as an artist. She’s gotten to work with phenomenal talents like Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton (twice!). You’d be foolish to say she hasn’t taken steps forward as an artist. But in terms of a long and viable career, the worry is that she’s going to box herself in.

For one thing, A Bigger Splash was her lowest grossing film, and while Suspiria is going to surpass it, it might not be by much. For another, it’s not like either of these movies is showing Johnson’s talents in a significantly different light than the 50 Shades movies. They all rely on a kind of punishing sexuality, outlined by lots and lost of darkness. Suspiria then ups that ante by adding a lot of violence. The self-selected audiences who flock to those movies in theaters aren’t going to be able to move the needle on Johnson’s career.

The thing is, we already know that Johnson can nail the sex-with-danger vibe that runs through all of these movies. She’s even playing to that in her role in Bad Times at the El Royale. And while very few things that happen in Suspiria are what you’re expecting, playing counter to the persona we’ve become so familiar with might be what gets audiences onboard.

What’s stranger is that if you looked at Johnson’s output since Fifty Shades of Grey happened, you’d never know what a fantastically versatile performer she is. Or how great at comedy she is. As Decider’s Josh Sorokach points out, her gone-too-soon FOX sitcom Ben & Kate is very warmly remembered, and with a barely altered set of circumstances, you could easily see that show still on TV today. Also, nobody talks about how good she was hosting Saturday Night Live. She remains the only person to ever successfully get a laugh out of ISIS:

It’s not that Dakota Johnson should stop making art films with auteur directors. Kristen Stewart managed to pivot away from her own book-turned-movie-series by doing exactly that. But Kristen Stewart didn’t choke off one of her core strengths to pursue all her French ghost movies. Johnson has it in her to be a great star of danger-sex movies and lighter comedies. Hopefully she can do the latter while that 50 Shades clout still stands.