RELEASED IN 2002 and directed by Steven Shainberg, "Secretary" is a romantic dramedy about a young woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who spent some time at a mental hospital for self-harm (e.g. cutting). She apprehends a job as a secretary to a quirky, arduous lawyer (James Spader) wherein their employer-employee bond turns increasingly sexual in a dominant/submissive way.This is the first mainline film in America to breach the difficult topic of BDSM, walking the balance beam between being either too amusing or too offensive. For those not in the know, BDSM is an overlap of acronyms: BD stands for Bondage and Discipline; DS for Dominance and Submission; and SM for Sadism and Masochism. I didn't really know the movie tackled BDSM before viewing it; I thought it was simply a romance-in-the-office type flick with maybe some kinky elements. The movie is polarizing, unsurprisingly. I read a few reviews by respectable critics and one was fascinated by it, giving it an incredible 10/10 Stars (Why Sure!), while another wrote it off as a film for sick people, granting it 1/10 Stars. Whilst I find the romance-at-the-office element interesting, I could care less about the BDSM angle. Regardless, the first half is amusing enough and Maggie is a winsome treat, but the second half gets a little too deviant and borders on porn. Yet the movie ends well with a well-intentioned message: This is a story about two people who have an affinity for DS that find each other and their relationship may or may not work (no spoilers). I suppose the movie is trying to get across that pain can be therapeutic as long as it's applied by the right hand with the right intention. Thus two people with an affinity for BDSM can develop a relationship that works, for them. But not me; no thanks. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour 47 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles. WRITERS: Mary Gaitskill (short story) and Erin Cressida Wilson & Shainberg (screenplay). GRADE: C-

This is one of those really really bad movies that are somehow made good simply because of the actors at the time. The last 20 minutes or so were just completely off the wall. Not entirely sure why this was marketed as a comedy. I can get behind dark comedies and amusing premises, but this was marketed entirely as a comedy. Nothing about this was funny. This entire movie was a joke. It seemed like it didn't know if it wanted to be a serious movie or something that people would laugh outright at. The whole premise is supposed to be about this guy who essentially gives this girl what she needs, but then it just spun in a completely different direction-they get married? Suddenly they're living a domestic life? And since when is there a tub/shower room at the top of the building? And someone mentioned it having kinky sex in the movie-there wasn't really ANY sex in the movie, just him spanking her hard and masturbating on her naked behind. The only sex "scene" between the two mains lasted less than 30 seconds on screen. The other sex scene was just an awkward scene. I want to say I hated this movie. I probably did. I don't know what I just watched. It was awful.

Big fan of Sex, Lies and Videotape and was hoping to see James Spader in a juicy role with Maggie G. Complete molasses bore fest. I could not get past 30 minutes and even that required a pandemic of patience. I was not anticipating grand action scenes, witty acerbic dialog, or inspiration. How about a working script or was this an exercise to see how slow one can answer a ringing phone or slice your thigh. I guess I'm with the Paralegal... annoyed with the whole scene. Wedding party, laundromat, office space, you have some potential with these as backdrop. However I was impressed with the donuts dunk in the round file!!!Good luck with this one, do not recommend whatsoever!

I'm giving this flick a 10 for a special reason. It achieves what very, very few films achieve: It successfully portrays a human-dimensioned, warm, believable, miraculous redemption. It didn't make me cry or shake me to my core. It simply gave me a tender, life-affirming hope: People can change.It's so funny to be reviewing this after the narratively anemic 'The Intern'. My comment to that flick was the diametric opposite to this one, and it comes down to this: You can't have redemption without real issues.All that, and it's actually wonderful from many other standpoints, from top (mythos/redemption) to bottom (sets/cinematography).It's truly an art flick, and a wonder to behold. Behold it!