Product Description

James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal When Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal - Donnie Darko, Adaptation) gets a job as a secretary in a small firm she does her best to please. But her new boss (James Spader - Stargate, Crash) finds fault with her typing and administers a rather unconventional kind of punishment. Soon Lee realises that she is not only becoming the perfect secretary, but also the woman she always wanted to be. Daring, sexy and provocative, this award-winning film is a must for anyone who's ever had a hard day at work...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6088 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-02-07
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Synopsis
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 fuelled 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.

Customer Reviews

An American Art House Classic!!!
"Secretary" is a classic American film. It has the distinct flavour of a European art house film because of its intelligence, pace and style. That said this is not everyone's cup of tea. It deals difficult subjects such as sexual perversion, masochism and self harm yet the film is blatantly romantic and life affirming. It is also very funny.

The performance of Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent and beautifully observed. Her transformation from loopy repressed adolescent to sexually confident woman is a joy to watch. She becomes extraordinarily sexy. James Spader is remarkable. No other actor in Hollywood could have played this part with such conviction and humour. His performance is that of an actor unafraid by the limitations imposed on most Hollywood leading men. He is ready to try the ridiculous at whatever cost and the results are more often than not refreshing and original.

The director Steven Shainberg displays a wealth of talent and it is a shame he is not pre-disposed to direct more films. He is obviously an actor's director. The final reel is the weakest of the picture. It seems to want to apologize for the excesses of the preceding reels, which need no apology.

I was left with one lingering question as Maggie Gyllenhaal stares directly at us provoking a judgement. Does her husband fire up the lights around the sign "Secretary Wanted" as soon as he gets to work?

Surprising...
I have to admit, I only watched this film because my sister persuaded me to. I had written it off beforehand because the trailers I saw portrayed the film as something I was certain I would not like. However when I sat down and watched it, I had to eat humble pie! Maggie Gyllenhaal is excellent as self-harmer Lee, who takes a job at a secretary and develops an unconventional relationship with her boss (James Spader in the kind of role that seems to be written for him). It is interesting that Lee's confidence grows the longer she is in, what could be interpreted as an exploitative relationship, and it is never black and white what is considered 'right' or 'wrong' - in fact the more traditional relationship she could have with her more 'official' boyfriend seems bland and unfulflling in comparison. Something I really love about the film is the soundtrack, it gives the whole film a classy, other-worldly air, that maintains the sense of tongue in cheek humour without denigrating what is going on. All in all a challenging film that might well surprise you.

The Private Life of an Office
There is no doubt that this film is erotic but what it is, most of all, is about the old adage that there is someone for everyone, no matter how strange you may be. These two oddball characters discover each others 'peversions' by accident - he is the controlled boss and she his nervous secretary. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a very convincing submissive masochist while James Spader plays the, almost unwilling, sadist. This role seems to have been written for him - his cold, detached, demeanor only cracking under the most extreme emotional turmoil. Even though it is a 'weird' setup you can't help cheering for them in the end.