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Secretary
2002
The masochist says to the sadist, "Hurt me." The sadist replies, "No." Everybody's happy. This strange balance plays heavily into the Steven Shainberg-directed SECRETARY, based on a short story by Mary Gaitskill. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a troubled young woman with a secret, destructive addiction fueled by her mother'.. Read more
| Starring | James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Lesley Ann Warren |
|---|---|
| Director | Steven Shainberg |
| Genres | Drama |
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Secretary
The masochist says to the sadist, "Hurt me." The sadist replies, "No." Everybody's happy. This strange balance plays heavily into the Steven Shainberg-directed SECRETARY, based on a short story by Mary Gaitskill. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a troubled young woman with a secret, destructive addiction fueled by her mother's overprotectiveness and her father's alcoholism. Sheltered and wholly dependent on other people, Lee's only form of self-expression is in this private, painful habit. That is, until she meets her new boss, the lawyer E. Edward Gray (James Spader), who hires her as his secretary. It is exciting for Lee to hold down a job, even if she is a basket case in the office. Mr. Gray watches Lee, studies her, and slowly begins to correct both her typing errors and her personality flaws. At first Mr. Gray's dominance appears scary and overbearing, a true threat to Lee's naive, fragile psyche. But as the film carefully develops these unique characters, revealing their odd strengths and weaknesses, it becomes delightfully clear that Lee and Mr. Gray can genuinely help each other. SECRETARY is a bright, atmospheric movie that shines a light on the "fun" in this dysfunctional relationship, while using brilliant performances by Gyllenhaal and Spader to illustrate the benefits of sadomasochistic love.
| Starring | James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Lesley Ann Warren |
|---|---|
| Director | Steven Shainberg |
| Studio | TARTAN VIDEO |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 47 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 29 Sep 2003 Production year: 2002 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Love stories don't come much more bizarre than this strangely touching tale of a sadomasochistic relationship. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, a troubled young woman recently released from a mental hospital, whose obsessive self-harming is a concern to friends and parents alike. Taking a job at a legal firm, Lee comes under the control of her boss (James Spader), who has extremely unorthodox attitudes to office discipline and triggers unsuspected desires in the delicate young woman. Both Gyllenhaal and Spader are excellent as loners who begin to realise that they might be perfectly matched, and although the (relatively tame) sadomasochistic scenes may be too much for more sensitive viewers — and the plot veers slightly off the rails towards the end — this curious story of sexual awakening delivers the thoroughly optimistic message that there really is somebody out there for everyone.
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Shainberg's film establishes its pervy pride from the start, a slinky tracking shot showcasing Gyllenhaal's mastery of... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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44 out of 48 people found this review helpful
One for the masochists
Or should that be one for the sadists, the bondage fans, the orange, ligature and fishnets brigade? Lee Holloway (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Donnie Darko's sister) finally shakes off her teenage self-harming misery years by falling hopelessly in love with her lawyer boss, Mr Grey (a sparkling James Spader) who just happens to be a dyed-in-the-wool sexual sadist.
It would be easy to dismiss this film as a prurient voyeuristic eye on the affairs of those who exist on the margins of sexual behaviour. I'm sure too that a lot of professionals working with people suffering from psycho-sexual problems would throw up their hands in horror at the notion that their clients could emerge from self-destructive, self-harming phases by embracing regular bondage and caning sessions. So far, so politically incorrect.
There is something more to this film though than the brief synopsis given above. When Lee looks us in the eye at the end of the movie, she's saying, "Come on, judge me if you're so sure of yourself". As far as she's concerned, she's swapped misery for bliss and her relationship with Mr Grey is entirely positive and consensual.
I would recommend this film for anyone who is prepared to put up with a few tremors and quakes in their moral universe. It's well-played, fairly credible and amusing without being too up itself. -
Most recent members' review
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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Love is Where You Find It
If you want a straightforward plot and trite sentimentality rent Love Actually, but if you want a film that is simultaneously sexy and thought-provoking, then this is the film for you.
Whether you find the BDSM elements of the film stimulating or revolting, this isn't really what the film is about. This theme seems to me a vehicle for exploring the nature of love, desire, and the self. By refusing to either condemn or glorify this behaviour it asks you to think about the multitude of ways in which people show that they care (or not) for each other.
Gyllenhaal is compelling and beautifully captures the internal dynamics of someone who cannot, it seems to me, find the right way to control or express her wrenching emotions to others. But by the end of the film she has become a 'woman' where I'd previously have described her as a 'girl'. Stunningly, this transformation operates through the acting out of submissive fantasies.
Spader's performance is also spot-on he's the successful next-door neighbour that you'd never know had sadistic leanings. His understated deliver is, in roundabout way, a means of saying: "This too is normal." Maybe not normal for you or for me, but no less normal than any of the other myriad ways that we show love or lust. -
News and features
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Gyllenhaal's baby girl felt homesick in London
- 10 Oct 2009
Maggie Gyllenhaal is carefully considering future film roles after her two-year-old daughter grew homesick in London while she was shooting Nanny Mcphee And The Big Bang. The Secretary star has been loving living in the British capital with husband Peter Sarsgaard while filming the family movie but her little girl Ramona was desperately missing New York. She says, "When you're pregnant, people love giving advice. And the advice that I have the most disdain for is, 'Oh, kids are so adaptable.... Read more
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Secretary
The masochist says to the sadist, "Hurt me." The sadist replies, "No." Everybody's happy. This strange balance plays heavily into the Steven Shainberg-directed SECRETARY, based on a short story by Mary Gaitskill. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a troubled young woman with a secret, destructive ...
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