The Town Herald

The netpaper about Elftowners, by Elftowners, for Elftowners.

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Secretary

Director: Steven Shainberg
By [irulan]

Have you ever wished that your typical romantic comedy with Meg Ryan & Hugh Grant were just a little different? Have you ever thought to yourself, “Man this romantic comedy would be so much better if it had a little S&M in it?” Well in case you have, Secretary is the movie for you. By the way, if you don’t know what S&M means don’t worry about reading this review.

Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a young woman who has just been released from a stay in a psychiatric facility. It seems she is a cutter, but a cutter with a very optimistic outlook. She keeps a small box of sharp utensils under her mattress, yet the outside is decorated with brightly colored, glittery butterfly stickers.  Once her family is introduced, it is easy to see why. Her mother is an overly perky doormat, her sister is just perky, and her father is an abusive alcoholic. It is not long before Lee gets out her box of sharp objects. She decides to take a typing class and ends up finishing at the top of her class. Then as she takes out the trash one night, she notices the want ads laying on top. She is excited to see that there is a position for a secretary available at a law firm. Her mother drives her to the interview. The lawyer, E. Edward Grey (James Spader), asks her a variety of odd questions – “Are you pregnant? Do you plan on getting pregnant? Do you live alone?” He tells her how boring and monotonous the work is. She replies, “I like dull work.” With that she has the job. 

It seems normal enough. Mr. Grey is a little anal and definitely has his quirks. He demands nothing less than precision and professionalism. He regularly calls Lee into his office to insist she change something – the way she answers the phones, the way she dresses, and after he catches her slicing her thigh at her desk, he tells her that she will never do it again. She happily disposes of her cutting box. It is also worth mentioning that Mr. Grey makes her use a typewriter. He does not have a computer either. And then, one day after she has made a few typos in a letter Mr. Grey calls her into his office. He advises her to place her hands on the desk and to bend over. He then proceeds to give her a solid spanking. Gyllenhaal does an excellent job in this scene; you can read her face going from shame, to puzzlement, and then to enjoyment.

Keep in mind that through all of this Lee has a boyfriend and eventually a fiancée. He is a dorky, mama’s boy who doesn’t have the slightest clue about Lee’s S&M tendencies. In fact after the first time they have sex, he asks if it hurt. She sighs a disappointed no.     

Mr. Grey doesn’t like to lose control though, and after Lee tries to take the dominant role he breaks off the relationship disgusted with himself. He also fires her. She doesn’t know what to do. Particularly humorous is her attempts to find fellow S&M enthusiasts through personal ads. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tell you the ending is a bit drastic but also charming at the same time. You will be surprised. 

The director handles this touchy subject wonderfully. The viewer does not feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. He does not make fun of the subject either, yet he still finds ways to insert appropriate comedy associated with it either. Maggie Gyllenhaal is superb as Lee. She portrays the wide-eyed innocence to the in charge domimatrix brilliantly. James Spader’s performance as the stoic Mr. Grey is good but not excellent. 

By the way, this is also probably not an ideal first date movie.

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