Secretary

USA 2002, 107 minutes
Dir. Steven Shainberg
Rating: [R16]
Genres: Drama, Comedy / Independent, Sex, Black Comedy, Romance, Girl-centric

Topics: Fetish.

Feat. James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Lesley Ann Warren, Patrick Bauchau

Aroview: A spanking good black comedy detailing the bizarre relationship between a peculiar, ill-tempered lawyer and the meek secretary he off-handedly employs, this is a near-perfect adult fable; daring and subversive yet sweet enough to appeal to audiences both straight and wild.

Cheekily scripted and directed with a firm hand, this maintains a delicate balance of subject and tone and deftly exploits its sexual tension and hilarious release. But best of all are the performances - Maggie Gyllenhaal, in a career-defining role, phases brilliantly from dowdy, insecure waif to ‘empowered’ sex-pot and strikes a genuine chemistry with the ever-charismatic James Spader.

NZ International Film Festival 2003

Member Reviews

Average rating (Very Good). Showing 1-5 of 5 member reviews.

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5 stars (Exceptional) One of the few films that manages to cross the line of sick and make it sexy. Could've gone so wrong but clever direction and the right cast makes it wonderfully unique and a definite MUST SEE ~Baby
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4 stars (Very Good) Lee is overcoming some mental issues when she lands a secretarial job for Mr. Grey's law office, who she quickly develops an obsessive crush on. Just the right mix of sadomasicism and love-story to make it an endearing tale. Unconventional & sweet. ~GenXGirl
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3 stars (Good Enough) A strange love story. The acting is very good and the characters draw you in. ~s36e175
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4 stars (Very Good) Although Spader gets lead billing this is Maggie's film. She overcomes a nightmare interview & intro to the job which includes situations, whilst enhanced here, might be familiar to many secretaries. The leads are great in this well written screenplay. ~Tubbs
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2 stars (Good Try) ~Anonz