By Melissa Antoinette Garza
As fans of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING (1967) will know, a secretary is NOT a toy! That said, it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun playing with one on a level field.
SECRETARY (2002) begins with Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) leaving a psychiatric hospital for cutting. She gets out on the day of her sister’s wedding. She’s awkward, unsure of herself and only knows that she is somehow different than those around her, just isn’t sure how or why.
She ends up getting a job at Mr. E. Edward Grey’s (James Spader) law firm. He instantly sees the torment within her. There’s a strong connection as he has conflict within himself as well. Grey is ashamed that he enjoys BDSM. He thinks it’s wrong, depraved and views it as an illness. He tries to refrain from doing it, but when Lee comes around, his desires mount.
He begins by telling her to stop cutting herself, but then things evolve. For example, when she misspells words, he spanks her. Lee jumps in to the odyssey loving every moment. For the first time, she doesn’t need to cut herself anymore. The familial drama isn’t impacting her the way it once did. She has control. She knows what she likes. She begins to purposely make mistakes to initiate the game with Grey.
As she is willing to drown herself in the abyss of pleasure, Grey is not. He breaks things off and fires her. Lee tries to move on and find different partners, but nothing is the same. She’s engaged to an innocuous, unassuming but nice enough guy named Peter (Jeremy Davies). When Grey is out of the picture, Lee tries to initiate slightly rougher sex with Peter, but he has no clue. She gets annoyed, but feeling pressure, proceeds with planning the wedding.
In the end, she can’t go thru with it. She goes back to Grey and insists that they continue their relationship and expresses her love for him. He’s taken aback, but tells her no. When she refuses to leave, he falls back into the role of Master once more giving her the instruction to sit and stay perfectly still.
He leaves and she follows the rules of the game. With complete bad-assery and absolute feminist command, she discloses to the world the nature of her relationship to Grey. In a message, she has it conveyed to Grey that it’s a fun game they both enjoy. Slowly, his resolve weakens and he finds strength from her.
While she awaits him coming back, everyone from all walks of life come to her chastising and chiding. Religious zealots, faux-feminists, conservatives and Grey’s exes all try to get her to leave, but she won’t.
Often this movie is misunderstood. This is not a film about male dominance. In the beginning, both lead characters are weak and in a mental prison because of shame. From the moment Grey shows Lee the world of BDSM, the power-structure begins to shift in Lee’s favor.She slowly finds control and is the first to find contentment with herself and her desires.
Without Lee, Grey is a broken man. He may play master in the bedroom, but in all real areas of life, Lee is in full control. Not to mention, as we see time and time again, she’s even in control of the game. She presses the invisible start button far more often than he does.
Quite often this gets wrongly compared with the atrocity that is FIFTY SHADES OF GREY (2015). It is nothing like that movie! FIFTY SHADES OF GREY is a tale of misogyny and debasement that I will never find attractive or compelling.
SECRETARY is about female empowerment, freedom from shame and the right to dictate your own path. It’s one of my favorite modern films.
Both Spader and Gyllenhaal knock it out of the park. Their chemistry and poised performances brought a layered and compelling relationship to the screen making it impossible to look away.
If you’re looking for a mild introduction to BDSM and a sexy fun movie with a female rockin’ the helm, this is for you.
Scared Stiff Rating: 9/10
