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Summary: Intelligent, interesting movie
Review: Very interesting story and really superb acting. Maggie G. is as sexually intense as any actress I've ever seen.Very sophisticated message concerning relationships. The best relationships are not necessarily made of two perfect people.
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Summary: Wish she were my secretary!
Review: American movies about personalities are relatively rare, since the focus is rather on the subject. This one is a fine materialization about weird, yet lovely people. James Spader taking the role of a yellow man, with all the cynical characters that you might find in a lawyer, as if he was born to play such role, and Maggie Gyllenhaal, the sweet beautiful young actress, is amazing in the role of an accidental secretary. Both personalities have strange alienations, maneuvering the sexual (or sensual) relation between them, and developing it based on the courage and tenacious of revealing, though discretely, the freaky approach to interactive with the other became a masterpiece. The movie starts with an invitation by Edward (the lawyer) to Lee (the secretary) to the world of submission that found a receptive answer; the sequences of the movie show the development of an S/M relation in a smart funny way, never boring or exaggerating. The scenes are not explicit to the extent of being offensive to normal viewer, because the movie concentrates on the buildup of the relation so you amazingly find yourself watching the hot succession of a love story. Moreover, pushing things to the limits is something usual in such relations, and it has been presented in a very logic way in the film. The determined sacrifices of the sub (Lee) as the last showdown, replied to by the complicated hesitation of the top (Edward) push the revelation to the ultimatum: we love each other this way. I really loved this movie, found it very spicy and colorful. With the new wave in cinema, were cost, graphic and technology rating the film and attracting the fans, it is so hard to provide such intentionally (definitely not compulsory) low budget, well made and extremely rich film. One minor non-avoidable defect: the joy of watching it for the first time is not repeatable, so if you want to own it, it would be simply for it existence among the collection to remind you about a warm sweet experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb
Review: I enjoy artsy films--this fell flat. Just plain dumb. Acting was bad, storyline was bad, continuity was bad---all of it.
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Summary: Kinky Love, True Love; Maggie Gyllenhaal Is Splendid Indeed
Review: Based on Mary Gaitskill's stort story collected in "Bad Behavior," "Secretary" follows a very, very strange kind of love story between a young girl Lee Holloway and a middle-aged lawyer E. Edward Grey who employs her as, yes, a secretary. Lee is played by splendid Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jake's sister), and Edward by James Spader, who is simply great. You also see Jeremy Davis and Lesley Ann Warren, but their roles are not as big as the two leads. The story is simple; it revolves around the said two characters, and the unexpected romance between them. I said 'romance,' but it is a kind of romance you find in cult-film directors like David Lynch (whose influence is too obviously felt here, and the music here is by Angelo Badalamenti). Kinky, you might say, and you are right. Lee, who has a habit of cutting her body, decides to work as a secretary when she finds a vacancy in Edward's office. But the job meeting with Edward is far from normal. I won't write it for it is probably the kind of the question many people think most indecent, and sexually harrassing. But Lee takes the job, and surprisingly, gradually gets a better secretary under the very 'unique' guidance of Edward, who tells her the 'right' way of doing the jobs. But when their mutual feelings comes closer to love, teacher/student relation also comes close to "Bad Behavior," or very sadomasochistic love relation between them. You may think, if you read this, the film is repulsive. Surely, to some, it may be. As I said, films like David Lynch or Pedro Almodobar can be the touchtone. If you love them, try it. If you prefer old-fashioned way of exressing love (which I do not dislike either), you may be shocked to see it. James Spader is always at his best when he portrays this kind of a character with intelligence and repressed desire, as you saw in "Sex, Lies, and Videotape." He is as good as that, but more astonishing is the newcomer Maggie Gyllenhaal, who succeeds in displaying the natural transformation of a girl -- a girl to a woman. No one can deny her enormous talent without which the film could be very simplistic exploitation of sexual desire. However, the fact is, it is not. And the two main characters are realized with compassionate touch of the director. I like them; I understnd them; only that possibly I cannot follow the path they went.
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Summary: Mr. Grey, you are one strange cat !
Review: Oh man, I was gonna write this whole big long review of my new favorite movie but I can't ona counta my hand hurts so bad from spanking my girlfriend last night that it's too painful to type. She said she didn't like the movie but then got real pouty and said she'd "been a bad girl." Well, what could I do? 5 Sharpies!
Rating:
Summary: Impressive dark romantic comedy with kinky fun.
Review: A Shy, Cute but sucidial attractive young woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Who's never been on her own, when she graduated from College Coarses. She decides to take a job at a law firm for the mysterious lawyer E. Edward Gray (James Spader). Although Edawrd is begin mean to her (especially She makes errors at typing). Then an odd sexually filtration happens between them at work but she falls madly in love with him but Edward cannot bring a committed relationship. Directed by Steven Shainberg (Hit Me) brings a unique, unusual touching film to life. It's a dramatic comedy with romantic and it's deeply erotic, which is certainly different that most films out there. Gyllenhaal & Spader are extraordinary good in it. DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD has an Commentary Track by the Director & More. Do not miss the extremely fine film. Screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson. Story Adapation by Cressida Wilson & Shainberg. Based on a short story by Mary Guitskill. Grade:A-.
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Summary: Chick Flick for Open Minds
Review: At the root, at the heart of this film, is a chick flick. A very good chick flick. Sure like most other reviewers, I'll agree that it's not for everyone. If you have a hard time understanding a lifestyle that differs from your own, not a movie for you. Unless your lifestyle involves your average S&M activities, then definately movie for you. Or if you're just open minded. I guess this film gave me a better understanding of someone who is into S&M and I actually respect their motives. It's all about happiness. And this film really showed this and did a great job at it. James Spader acted really well in this, but was definately overshadowed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She impressed me beyond words.
Rating:
Summary: Dreadful
Review: The last time mainstream Hollywood tried to make a movie with material similar to this the results were equally ludicrous and disappointing -- and I am referring to "Exit To Eden", a brilliantly sexy book by Anne Rice (writing under one of her other names). I suppose Showgirls also fits the bill. They say that no one in Hollywood starts out to make a bad movie, and while I certainly believe that, The Secretary is one. While the acting is decent and the photograpy well done, the sexuality in the short story (from which this movie takes it's title) is so much better. Given the shortage, in my opinion, of mainstream movie with real sex scenes it must be difficult to do -- and this movie proves that. I can't really recommend this movie to anyone, unless you rent it with Showgirls and Exit To Eden for a night of camp laughs.
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Summary: Entertainment With A Difference
Review: This movie is about a woman who checks out of a mental institution and gets a job as a secretary with a boss who also has mental issues. The woman settles down in her job but starts to make typo errors which leads to her boss verbally abusing her. She compulsively cuts herself in response. The boss notices this and then continues to reprimand her errors in an unorthodoxed manner which leads to a sadomasochistic relationship between the two. This movie is not for everyone but if you have an open mind and a taste for something different you'll find it entertaining in an enexpected way. I know I did expect to.....but I did anyway.
Rating:
Summary: Maggie Gyllenhaal's amazing performance can't save the movie
Review: The mostly stellar reviews that this movie received, and my love of independent movies over summer blockbusters made this movie a must see on my list. When I started to watch this movie I immediately felt that it would be of those that would polarize its audience due to the subject matter and execution thereof, but I hoped that I would be on the side of those who liked it. I was shocked only by how bored I was by watching this movie. The movie was marketed as a walk on the wildside of sorts and I kept waiting for it to get going. After watching half of it, I simply could not waste another minute. The only positive thing that this movie accomplished was to allow Maggie Gyllenhaal the room to give a deeply immersed, credibly transitional performance as Lee, a fragile, frumpy, self-mutilating psychiatric patient recently released from a mental hospital. Her performance has to be considered a true breakthrough as she managed to give some humanity and believability to a heavy-handed yet underwritten script. Other actors don't come out nearly as well. James Spader, who plays Lee's boss seems to be phoning in his performance as he is no different here than he is in the television show titled "The Practice". Spader's acting works very well in the series as he is part of an ensemble and his character has brought life to a series that was getting stale. Here he just annoys. Also, does the director not know that casting Leslie Ann Warren alsmost guarantees a dud. She unfortunately is an actress who like Spader seems to be playing the same angry victim every time she appears in a movie. This role may say a lot about the opportunities that are out there for mature women, but she does nothing to make it her own. Although the director has a visual flair, the pacing of the movie killed it for me. The multiple scenes involving self-mutilation were treated frivolously and Lee's submission into the sadomasochistic relationship did not ring true to me. Although I like quirky movies, the repeated spankings seemed way out of place and the movie would have benefitted from a more restrained approach. I believe that it could have worked much better if it had taken the time to seduce the audience into seeing how Lee could be attracted by what was about to come. The execution could have benefited by creating a sense of mystery and not being so in your face with what seemed to be very violent spankings for the sake of being provocative. Most will probably disagree with my views about this movie, but I owe my peers the courtesy of putting my two cents to balance the decisions of those who discover movies in this great site. Also, some may say that only seeing half the movie does not allow for a thorough review, but it got to the point when I was too bored and uninterested to watch. This is huge when you consider that I have only walked out of two movies in my whole life. In a nutshell, this movie seems to be asking us to view the lead characters' kinkiness not as some innocuous behavioural difference but as a profoundly liberating statement. The statement is too bold and the movie in no way reaches the heights it intends too. Maybe this would work better as a documentary, but this film is a waste of time and money.
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