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Secretary (2002)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
14 November 2002 (Israel)
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Tagline:
Assume the position. more
Plot:
A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe.
Another 14 wins
&
17 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(49 articles)
Go Comedy! Improv Theatre Presents Miracle On Nine Mile Street 11/20
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 20 November 2009, 2:00 AM, PST)
Exclusive Stills: The Resident from Hammer Films
(From Dread Central. 29 October 2009, 4:29 PM, PDT)
(From BroadwayWorld.com. 20 November 2009, 2:00 AM, PST)
Exclusive Stills: The Resident from Hammer Films
(From Dread Central. 29 October 2009, 4:29 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
a dark comedy layered with nuanced social and personal commentary
more (360 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | James Spader | ... | Mr. Grey |
 | Maggie Gyllenhaal | ... | Lee Holloway |
 | Jeremy Davies | ... | Peter |
 | Lesley Ann Warren | ... | Joan Holloway |
 | Stephen McHattie | ... | Burt Holloway |
 | Patrick Bauchau | ... | Dr. Twardon |
 | Jessica Tuck | ... | Tricia O'Connor |
 | Oz Perkins | ... | Jonathan |
 | Amy Locane | ... | Lee's Sister |
 | Mary Joy | ... | Sylvia |
 | Michael Mantell | ... | Stewart |
 | Lily Knight | ... | Paralegal |
 | Sabrina Grdevich | ... | Allison |
 | Lacey Kohl | ... | Louisa |
 | Julene Renee | ... | Jessica |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for strong sexuality, some nudity, depiction of behavioral disorders, and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
104 min
Country:
Language:
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Ireland:18 |
Finland:K-15 (self applied) (2006) (TV rating) |
Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2006) (DVD) |
Italy:T |
Iceland:16 |
Argentina:16 |
Australia:MA |
Brazil:16 |
Canada:18A |
France:-12 |
Germany:16 |
Japan:R-15 |
Netherlands:16 |
New Zealand:R18 |
Norway:15 |
Peru:18 |
Philippines:R-13 |
Portugal:M/16 |
Singapore:R(A) |
South Korea:18 |
Sweden:15 |
UK:18 |
USA:R (certificate #38664) |
Canada:16+ (Quebec)
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Two posters were made for this film, one showing leads James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal and the other showing a model from behind bending over. Gyllenhaal admitted that the model was not her but it was someone who was dating her ex-boyfriend.
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Goofs:
Boom mic visible: In the scene where Tricia O'Connor arrives and calls Lee submissive, a boom mic is clearly reflected in the window behind Lee, following her while she moves from left to right.
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Quotes:
Burt Holloway:
You are the child of god's holy gift of life. You come from me. But you are not me. Your soul and your body are your own, and yours to do with as you wish.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "HBO First Look: Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (#13.17)" (2006)
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Soundtrack:
Summer of Love
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FAQ
What's up with the worm?more
more (360 total)
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What is the path to love? For every person, it's different. The superficial circumstances are similar... you meet someone at work, at school, in a singles bar. And, usually, the emotional pathways are similar. Eyes meet. We talk. We dance. We communicate about ourselves to each other. Then begins the sexual part, so we parry and thrust, take signals from each other, and, over time, we feel each other up together. But what about the path to love through the back door (so to speak)? What about a love story where she's a young, neurotic woman, just out of a mental hospital back to a family where Dad's a serious drunk and Mom's a serious nervous fruitcake. And what about a man, an attorney, who's emotionally closed off and can only get in touch with orchids, inserting long stainless-steel tools into their waiting organs. Yes, these two find each other in one of the most bizarre cinematic love stories ever.
I loved this movie. I pilgrim around, searching through books and movies for secret pathways to and circumstances of the human heart. This movie transcends its gentle S&M to reveal yet another way to love.
Our heroine, the fresh-faced (and magnificently moon-like) Maggie Gyllenhaal is brilliant as the new secretary to a lawyer who goes through so many secretaries, he has a "secretary" vacancy sign he lights up outside his office. As our heroine tries to re-enter the world by getting her first job with this man, it becomes apparent that the boss is anything but normal. He is demanding yet insistent that his new charge break away from her stifling past and be herself. But what or who is she? And who in the hell is he?
The movie is sexy. There's no denying it. Gyllenhaal is radiant and sinuous, and we feel that she's truly experiencing the wonder of it all for the first time. Spader is type-cast a bit, but his world-weary sexiness fits well with Gyllenhaal's naiveté. And, let's face it, Gyllenhaal is grippingly sexy, and we see her in hose, panties, tight skirts and in the nude. And as far as I'm concerned, she's fabulous, darling. And in one of the movie's sexiest, most endearing scenes, we see Spader carry her off in her urine-soaked wedding dress as he finally assumes his responsibilities as her loving "dom". She is totally tired, subservient and radiant in total surrender, rescued from a voyeurizing world. What a hunk of sexy cinema that was with her arm languidly draped around Spader's neck as he carried the bride over the threshold to love and dominance. Wow.
This movie explores and explodes sexual myths. The director has successfully created a dark comedy layered with nuance in a stew of social commentary. This movie is not for everyone. Stay away if you're conventionally wrapped, conservative, or lacking in a certain joy of exploration. But if you're ready for a most untraditional-traditional love story, Spader and Gyllenhaal give Oscar worthy performances... but of course the subject matter nixed that.