:
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Maggie Gyllenhaal,
James Spader,
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:
Steven Shainberg,
Steven Shainberg
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: 
: Lions Gate
: Independent, Romantic Comedy
: 111 min.
: English
: English, Spanish
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Sadomasochism provides the backdrop for a very unusual employer/employee relationship in this very offbeat romantic drama from filmmaker Steven Shainberg. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a shy young woman, who, after a brief spell in a mental institution, is released in the care of her overprotective mother (Lesley Ann Warren) and hard-drinking father (Stephen McHattie). Hoping to make good on her own, Lee begins looking for a job, and in her free time indulges in her odd habit of inflicting pain upon herself in various ways. Lee is hired as a secretary by E. Edward Grey (James Spader), a grim and ruthlessly efficient attorney who warns her that her work will be both dull and demanding. Lee takes to the job with genuine enthusiasm, and while she's recently acquired a new boyfriend, Peter (Jeremy Davies), she's far more intrigued by Grey's coldly patrician demeanor. While Grey often criticizes Lee, she seems to thrive on his abuse, but one day he crosses a line when he insists upon spanking her after some minor mistake. Lee quite enjoys the treatment, and wants it to continue, but Grey can no longer take pleasure humiliating Lee when he knows that she likes it; he fires her, despite her pleas to be allowed to stay. Finally discovering the key to her sexual and emotional needs, Lee tries to persuade Peter to be rough with her, but he simply doesn't have the taste or talent for it, and Lee soon maps out a last-ditch effort to win back her position with Grey, whatever the cost. Secretary won a special award for "Originality" at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
"How you feel about this film may depend on how you feel about using an imagined story to explain the life of a real person, or to explain anything else," writes David D'Arcy, introducing his interview with Steven Shainberg, whose new film, starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey, Jr., is entitled - pay attention - Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. Full article >>
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Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
Almodovar tread down similar terrain in darker fashion
White Palace
Spader gets even steamier in this May-December (or November?) romance
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| The Politics of Lubricity
by RJones3
September 18, 2007 - 8:42 AM PDT
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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| When a movie about sadomasochism is as entertaining as The Secretary, you begin to worry. For Eric Fromm, a psychoanalyst of the postwar Frankfurt School of critical theory, sadomasochism was the core of madness. It was behind such varied evils as the Nazi regime (Escape from Freedom) and the dysfunctional personality (The Art of Love). Somehow director Steven Shainberg has made this screenplay by Cressida Wilson, based on a story by Mary Gaitskill, into a movie that manages, while being nowhere near politically correct, to avoid the more troublesome aspects of its subject matter. Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader are perfect as two sick puppies who in real life would never make the romantic connection scripted for them. Jeremy Davies provides an amusing contrast as the conventional suitor who nevertheless has problems of his own. To understand how deftly this movie handles its subject, we need only compare it with its predecessors. There is the tame 9 1/2 Weeks of 1986, which led Roger Ebert to complain that it was inconsistent for the Mickey Rourke character to buy a whip in the company of the Kim Bassinger character without using it in rest of the movie. Ebert called the much darker Il Portiero di Notte (The Night Porter) of 1974 "Nazi chic . . . as nasty as it is lubricious." |
| wow! far exceeded expectations
by alexjb
April 22, 2005 - 12:15 PM PDT
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4 out of 5 members found this review helpful
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maybe it's because i hadn't heard any of the hype around this film when it came out, but i was really really surprised at how much i liked it after reading the lame synopsis. it totally pulled me away from the chores i was going to do while watching. it's sort of a romantic comedy with some depth and without any of the conventional plot hooks or shtick.
great production values! the main set is the lawyers office and it's visually very very cool; it also evolves to reflect the mood of the film as things progress; as if it were a reflection of spader's state of mind. there's one orgasm/dream sequence with approaches being corny, but just barely avoids it.
great acting; as another reviewer noted, the performances have subtlety and the actors do a great job reflecting the inner moods/struggles of the characters.
best of all is the writing and directing. there's so much left unsaid, but it helps rather than hurts. the scenes play out at a gentle pace, but i never got bored.
it's not graphic (with one or two exceptions), it's really about the psychology of (some) BDSM practitioners. if you're really touchy about women's rights issues, you may find it inflammatory, but i think that the female lead comes across as more personally empowered than the male. |
| Secretary
by maritoni
June 23, 2003 - 2:00 PM PDT
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10 out of 12 members found this review helpful
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| What I loved about this story was the discovery and acceptance of self. It's well-written (by Bay Area playright, Erin Cressida Wilson) and wonderfully acted by James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal and both evoke a twisted sensuality. They both have such incredible faces and have great subtley in bringing their characters emotions through expression merely than through loud acting. Ah there's some of that too, but always with ironic depth. Some of the supporting characters are rather bland (especially the parents), but serve the story well enough. The film is quite beautiful as well, with great production design. Though it may not be everyone's cup of tea, in essence it's just another love story. With some teeth, so to speak. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.34)
729 Votes
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