The benefit of low, low expectations?

Slate just posted a largely positive review of Dakota Johnson's portrayal of Anastasia Steele, the main character in the film version of Fifty Shades of Grey. Sure, they're pretty nasty about the movie itself (and even nastier about the story it's based on), but Johnson's performance gets a solid thumbs-up. Personally, I'm unconvinced—in one of the video clips embedded in the article, Johnson does seem like she's at least halfway deserving of the "spunky" epithet people keep bestowing on her, but why does she keep whispering everything? She's in a hardware store, for Pete's sake, not a hospital.

Also, that dude's unblinking stare is creepy as hell.