Movies

Did they get a casting award for this picture? Yes, they certainly did, and it was well deserved. It is not often that casting is perfect, but it certainly was here with Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader, as the secretary and the boss.Spader is a lawyer who is extremely anal and has some weird taste in decorating. His proclivities for domination come later. Gyllenhaal is fresh from rehab and needs a job. As luck would have it, Spader has a flashing sign in front of his office much like a "Vacancy" sign at a motel. Secretaries don't last long at this office.In the context of sado-masochism, this is a love story. It's a strange love story, but it was sweet and tender and Gyllenhaal was nothing short of magnificent.

"Secretary" is everything I have ever wanted in a film: romance, humor, drama, and kinky sex! The incredible chemistry between an amazing Maggie Gyllenhaal and a repressed yet fierce James Spader is what makes this movie work so well, and the tender depths to which their relationship is portrayed makes it so much more than just a film about sadomasochism. I felt that the main theme of the film was to show that people have pain, and it is only when you accept that pain that you are able to feel your emotions fully, therefore making your life much more livable. This movie was a bit quirky, and might not be for everyone. However, I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind. "Secretary" is by far my favorite film of the year.

How refreshing!! It has been quite some time since I went to the movies and walked out feeling I could wholeheartedly endorse the film I just saw. When asked why this film was so good by my coworkers, I responded "the actors' performances, the sets, the script, the content, essentially everything." And so it is, everything. Thank the spirits that flow someone still has the ability, honesty, and energy to make such a film in the land of fakery and deception. While the relationship depicted is that of a sadist and a masochist and this is what will get played up in the press, the point is the relationship and the near impossibility of love working without complete honesty. Bravo.