As more time has gone by and I've had some great conversations with fellow kinksters about the film, I'm realizing that the biggest problem with it was the marketing.

It was sold as a "RomCom" for kinksters. Elements of comedy and romance were heavily hinted at in trailers and press tours.

So my expectation was that I was going to see a "happy" or "healthy" portrayal of kink and BDSM.

If the message had been that this is A story about a BDSM relationship, no emphasis on it it's good or bad, I would've been more inclined to think that this is more of a cautionary tale or the story of a relationship that isn't meant to be idolized. Specifically parts of the D/S relationship that were immature or didn't click well for both parties. This doesn't mean a D/S relationship cannot be what Colin and Ray have if they both agree to live it like this. And there's no judgement for those that are committed to living their life how they want.

It's a Queer artistic film and not meant to be a blockbuster.

We got so used to Queer stories in movies being explicitly about happiness and positive change that I assumed this was the same.