Secretary

Rating:
Summary: Lee is a TRUE Submissive. She is BEAUTIFUL!
Review: Maggie Gyllenhaal is sublime as a meek submissive who (like most subs) can tend to Top from the Bottom...she's amazing!
I was glad to see something other than the stereotyped dungeon room with whips/chains/shackles...this was a good "head trip" flick...beautifully directed and scripted, dreamlike set design, and flawlessly cast.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
=^..^=

Rating:
Summary: Saddle and carrot.
Review: It's a shame that this movie is so good for so long. The final fifteen minutes is utterly unbelieveable. It's as if a different crew came in to fill in story for the end. The first hour and a half is really good. Both leads sizzle in great roles. The atmosphere is excellent and teeters on the edge of edgy drama and blackest black comedy. The entire package is marred, however, by a dissapointing third act. The film flows along and suddenly stops on a dime and changes direction completely. It turns the kind of bizzare that makes you scratch your head and say,"why'd they do that?" Really worth seeing (especially for the performances) but could've been wrapped up into a tighter package.

Rating:
Summary: Best Movie I've seen in over a year!
Review: This is so much better than I thought it would be, the characters are a little unusual, but they tie the plot together so well, it is well written, well acted, and on my personal "must have" list!

Rating:
Summary: You might laugh, you might cry, but you'll definitely think
Review: "Secretary" is not your mother's movie about a compulsively self-mutilating woman who enters into a sadomasochistic relationship with her overbearing lawyer boss. It's a twisted tale of two people with some serious hangups, who somehow manage to find a connection in the midst of some kinky activities at work. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays the titular self-mutilator, Lee, who upon her release from an institution takes a job as a secretary for the stern E. Edward Grey (James Spader). She clearly has a submissive personality, which Edward seizes upon to exercise his own dominant tendencies. At first he just yells at her when she messes up, but pretty soon she's wearing a saddle and being spanked for making typos. It's pretty therapeutic for both of them, and the S & M activities clearly give Lee and Edward some sort of symbiotic relationship where both can work out their control issues. One could even say it constitutes love, which is an idea that the second half of the movie addresses. It's interesting to watch the way the dynamics of Lee and Edward's relationship develop, but what really makes the movie is the brilliant acting and director Steven Shainberg's keen eye for detail. The whole movie is full of little subleties that had me laughing at the inspired absurdity of it all, and Spader and Gyllenhaal can convey more with a single expression than some actors can in an entire monologue. If you're not amused at the scene where Edward gets turned on watching Lee root through a dumpster, then you'd better check your pulse. The film's bizarre sense of humor is often reminiscent of my all-time favorite TV show, "The Simpsons," but a lot dirtier. If, like me, you're appalled at the near-constant mundaneness of mainstream cinema, you owe it to yourself to check "Secretary" out.

Rating:
Summary: A little too slow
Review: Starts out slow then get funny then goes slow again. The acting is great by both Gylenhaal and Spader. Maggie's facial expressions are great. Would it prefered it to be more funny.

Rating:
Summary: A painfully wonderful romance!!!
Review: Maggie Gyllenhaal is a wonderfully offbeat young actress with a string of minor roles in some terrific independent films. In "Secretary", she makes her starring role debut, and she's terrific. Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, an unstable girl who has just been released from a mental institution. She gets a job as a secretary for Edward Grey, an overbearing lawyer (James Spader). Edward is far from a normal boss however. His punishment for typos and minor spelling errors begin with mild humiliation, but as Lee swiftly responds to his demands,the punishments slowly begin to escalate.

"Secretary" treats kinky sex with extreme tenderness. To his credit, director and co-writer Steven Shainberg depicts the strange sexual interplay between Lee and Edward, with restraint. He is more interested in their emotions than their actions, and weights the images accordingly. When Lee goes to work for Edward, he sees her only as another in a string of women who will indulge his fantasies of dominance. But Lee transforms their connection from a game to a relationship, and paradoxically frees them both from guilt and self-hatred.

Mr. Spader does a smart, considered job as Edward, a man who does not understand his own needs until Lee begins to bloom with his attention. Just as he helps her unlock her sensuality, she helps him unlock his kindness.

Based on a highly regarded short story by Mary Gaitskill, the movie shows wit as well as insight. Lee attempts a romantic relationship with a fellow psychiatric case (Jeremy Davies), including a bedroom interlude. When he sweetly asks, "Did I hurt you?" there is no disguising the disappointment in her voice when she answers "No."

Whether it shocks or disturbs or amuses, "Secretary" deserves applause for doing something most movies avoid these days: addressing adult sexuality - a non-mainstream kind of sexuality -with wit, style and compassion. This film is highly recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: Unconventional Love Story
Review: Young Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) gets her first job as a secretary in the law office of Mr. E. Edward Grey (James Spader). Shy, frumpy and unsure of herself, Lee initially has trouble coping with Mr. Grey's perfectionism. The boss and secretary's dependency on one another grows and evolves into an overt dominant-submissive relationship. Through this relationship, Lee gains self-confidence and is able to put the self-destructive habits of her past behind her. Both Lee and Mr. Grey find the love and understanding that they crave in this unconventional but mutually fulfilling relationship.

Secretary is equal parts love story, psychological drama, and sex farce. In some ways, it is a classic romance: Two needy people discover that what they need is each other. But in Secretary, the characters' emotional needs are extreme, and their ways of expressing love are eccentric. The film treats the subject of dominant-submissive relationships with humor and generally good nature. It doesn't equate these relationships with dysfunction, but instead asserts that dominant-submissive behavior can be a way for some people to overcome dysfunction, or at least to transform it into something harmless. The performances are terrific. James Spader is wonderful as Mr. Grey, a middle-aged divorced lawyer who is distrustful of love and sometimes afraid of what his own desires might mean. Maggie Gyllenhaal is radiant, funny, and totally convincing as the bright but troubled young secretary.

Secretary isn't graphic, but it is kinky, and it does not moralize. If you don't like the idea of "alternative" lifestyles, you won't like this film. If you don't mind breaking with convention, I highly recommend Secretary. It is funny, touching, provocative, and boasts some great performances.

Rating:
Summary: Not For Everyone, but an Excellent Film.
Review: I have heard that this film has been critized by feminists as being anti-woman. I totally disagree. This film shows a woman dealing with her sexual baggage in the only way she knows how.
The actress,Maggie Gyllenhaal, does a great job playing her character. The infamous spanking scene is a good example. She could have played it completely over the top. Instead she uses
subtle facial expressions to covey the confusion and excitement she is feeling.
James Spader does a great job also ,as usual, in a complex roleas her repressed boss.
This movie is for adults, not children or people who are bothered
by sexual expression on film. The director has done a great job
dealing with very mature themes and walking a fine line to keep the film funny.

Rating:
Summary: Only for the Open Minded
Review: I will willingly watch any movie of any kind, and go along with the story so long as it keeps me under its spell. Which is exactly what this movie did for me. It's my new favorite movie.
"Secretary" is funny (in it's own strange way) and absolutely mesmerizing. If you can get past the fact that every character in this movie is bizarre and just go with it, you will love it. It's been awhile since a movie has made me this happy. I've been watching far too many depressing and unoriginal movies that left me feeling like the future of my attending a movie screening bleak.
Lee has just been released from an institution, and it's the day of her sister's wedding. Early on, she is very odd and you wonder what the heck is going on. She's cutting herself, and her father is an alcoholic. Life is not very happy for our dear odd bird, Lee. Then she applies for her first job as secretary to E. Edward Grey. Her existence takes quite a turn once working for Mr. Grey.
Mr. Grey is into S&M, and when Lee starts making typos, he gives the bad girl something to remember him by. She loves every minute. This is what floats their boat, so to speak...If it makes them happy then so be it.
Per his request, she stops cutting. He also tells her what to do all the time, even what to eat for dinner, and she gladly obliges. She does everything he tells her. Underneath her submissiveness, Lee is embarking on a very weird journey into finding herself and falls in love.
It has some great dialogue, too. Now when I answer the phones at work, I smile and laugh to myself, and all I can think of is this movie.
It's brilliantly acted by all the actors especially Maggie. Her performance was the best of all actresses in the year 2002 that I had to the distinct pleasure to witness. She took on the role and truly made it a spectacle to see. It was like watching a caterpillar turn into a butterfly. I thought that she and James Spader had an amazing chemistry together.
I say to each is own, some of us appreciate films that push the buttons of others. This film is worth watching.
Also, I am a Secretary myself, and couldn't help but laugh at a lot of the scenes between Lee and Mr. Grey. I've worked for some real strange men, but no one was quite like E. Edward. This movie should be shown on Sundance on April 23rd, to pay homage to all secretaries like me.

Rating:
Summary: Best movie released in years... and super sexy too!
Review: I've been pretty disappointed with the latest movies released on DVD over the past few months, with no standout movies lately. I've recently watched romantic/sexy genre movies like Femme Fatale, Roger Dodger, and the much hyped Sex and Lucia, however I really didn't care for those 3 much (Roger Dodger being the best of the 3) and then I have to say I was completely blown away from the get go upon viewing Secretary!

Biting humor, excellent performances and script, and the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal in a sexy breakthrough performance. She was one of the bright points in Donnie Darko, which I otherwise didn't like, and I was thrilled to see that she was starring in her own flick already. This movie for her kind of reminds me of Emily Watson's turn in Breaking the Waves, in that she comes out swinging with a tremendous and revealing perfomance (revealing in a few ways, I might add), and I am sure just as Emily got tons of roles after Breaking the Waves, Maggie should get heaps of scripts thrown at her after this one.

I didn't want this movie to end, as I was utterly captivated by the quirky relationship of the two characters. The movie flowed through without a disappointed feeling at any point. I was completely satisfied with every aspect of the film, and the outcome. The only question in my mind was when the movie was suppose to take place. The cars in the film and the old typewriters suggest mid 80's, yet I know I saw some 90's or newer vehicles in the background, and a Dasani vending machine in the laundromat (Dasani water came out around 1999). I haven't listened to the entire commentary track, but from what I have, they make no mention of the intended time period.

James Spader is reminiscent of his Sex, Lies, and Videotape role in only tiny aspects, as I feel this lawyer character is much different from the drifter he played in that film. I liked how Spader opens his closet early to midway into the film and you see tons of neckties hanging on a rack on the wall; much later in the film, after he is struggling with the way he feels about Lee, you see him open his closet and now only one necktie is there. I saw this as an indication of this character in turmoil, and not his usual self. One of the many brilliant subtleties which make up this competely original film.

This film ranks up there with Sex,L&V as one of the best films on variant sex of all time. The phrase "I'm your secretary" spoken by Gyllenhaal is an instant classic erotic fim quote, ranking right there with Spader uttering "why don't you let me tape you" in SL&V.