Secretary

There are certain occasions where I run across the movie that I probably shouldn’t like, but do anyway, and can’t really clearly elaborate as to why.  Secretary is such a flick.  Of course, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be attracted to a movie about two people finding love despite their tendencies towards sadomasochism, now is there?  I mean, doesn’t everyone find entertainment these days in the sickness and depravity of others?  How else do you explain Monica Lewinsky hosting a show on Fox these days?  Anyway, if such a premise tickles your fancy, read on.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (a young woman whom I believe will be a big star in the not-too-distant future) plays Lee Holloway, freshly released from a mental institution.  It seems that going through childhood and puberty in a home with an abusive, alcoholic father and a meek, submissive, over-protective mother have left Lee with a thing for self-mutilation.  She returns to the home where all of these problems started to find that nothing has really changed, so she resorts to her old methods of dealing with them.  Somewhere down deep, however, she wants to rise above all of this, so she takes typing classes and goes out looking for the first job of her life.  She finds it as a secretary for E. Edward Grey (James Spader), a lawyer who goes through so many secretaries that he has a permanent “Secretary Wanted” sign hanging from his shingle outside his door.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always thought James Spader has the type of face that looks like it’s persistently up to some sort of no good, so when Lee sees that face when she applies for the job, I knew something interesting was coming soon.  I was right, as Mr. Grey has a few hang-ups of his own.  We’re shown a few episodes that demonstrate how Mr. Grey’s hang-ups have perhaps caused problems with clients and former lovers, insinuating that maybe he’s just as screwed up, if not more so, than Lee.  For starters, he takes the term “anal-retentive” to new heights, as his obsession for red markers and Luddite philosophy towards modern office technology demonstrate.  His degrading commands of Lee don’t seem to faze her, and his amazement at her lack of self-esteem leads him to ratchet up the level of humiliation in his orders, as if searching for her breaking point.  When he finally forces her to read a poorly-typed letter while he spanks her, Lee reaches a sort of crest in her search for a different direction in life.

An old high school boyfriend (Jeremy Davies) pursues Lee, seeking a more traditional relationship, but Lee finds herself less and less interested in such a thing.  She grows more and more bored when they are together, and her attempt to spice up their sex life to her satisfaction is almost hilarious.  She begins searching for ways to displease Mr. Grey in an attempt to earn more of his attention.  Perhaps such attention is so firm and direct and so different from that of therapists and counselors and wussy parents that it fills a need of hers that’s never been addressed before.  He commands her to stop wounding herself, and she obeys.  Whatever the case may be, the relationship these two people have brings positive changes to Lee.

Secretary doesn’t offer any moral judgment on sadomasochism, and that may or may not be a good thing.  What it does do is show that Lee and Mr. Grey both have problems and both are searching for a way to fit those problems into something akin to a normal existence.  Movies featuring kinky sex or deviant sexual acts generally force the audience in one of two directions: either we’re to snicker at the absurdity of the visuals or we’re to be nauseated at the degradation the participants inflict upon one another.  Secretary does a fine job of falling somewhere in between.  Gyllenhaal’s performance is perfect in that we’re always aware that Lee is striving for a peace of mind she’s never known.  Her attraction to such behavior may or may not be morally wrong, but it does keep her from inflicting harm upon herself and leads her to positive changes.  Her willing submission to Mr. Grey’s domination is not a worsening of her problems; it’s an accommodation of them.  Their relationship gives Lee the strength to begin making decisions for herself, relate to her mother on a more mature level and provide stronger support to her father.  

As I was saying earlier, it’s difficult to explain why I thought this movie was pretty good.  I certainly don’t endorse its message, but I can’t deny that it conveyed that message effectively and entertainingly.  Shoot, maybe I should give The Bachelor another try.  Then again, I’m not that interested in other people’s depravity…

Larry Smoak
April 18, 2003

back to top