Film review: The secretary (2002)
Shainberg. s (Director). (2002). The secretary [Film]Double A Films; The Slough Pond Company; TwoPoundBag Productions.
Steven Shainberg’s The Secretary (2002) Embodies everything that Sam Taylor Johnson's Fifty shades of grey (2015) wishes it was. The transgressive romantic comedy manages the impossible: Balances a dark storyline of sadomasochism, self-harm and workplace harassment politics with feel-good tale of love that manages to subvert the cringeworthy tropes associated with the “dark romance” genre. The storyline, co-adapted from Mary Gaitskill’s short story, stipulates a satirical play on political correctness, airing the grievances of mundane corporate life where professionality prohibits fun, allowing the viewer to indulge in the forbidden fruit of a sexualised office environment where a whirlwind romance disrupts the monotony of modern office culture. The peculiarly magnetic narrative is aided by the genius work of composer Angelo Badalamenti (who famously created Lynch’s infamous Twin peaks intro), who shapes the captivating score that cohesively matches the film’s simultaneously playful and sordid undertone.
The film examines protagonist Lee Holloway (convincingly played by indie movie it girl Maggie Gyllenhall), a socially awkward sensitive young woman who after being released from a psychiatric facility for her self-harm addiction, is forced to move back into the grasp of her neurotic household. Lee learns to type and secures a secretary position for an eccentric yet demanding attorney, E. Edward Grey who is unforgettably played by James Spader, who at the time was privy to psychosexual movie roles like his performance in Cronenberg’s crash (1996).
Moreover, Holloway is tormented by the unpredictable nature of her homelife, filled with domestic disputes at the hand of her alcoholic father. To cope with her insatiable need for order in her life, she re-employs the ritualistic task of cutting as a way to self sooth. Mr Grey, an OCD ridden control freak, lines up pencils, meticulously tends to his orchids and compulsively exercises as a means of controlling everything in his life. The two dysfunctional lonely souls find solace through the formation of a BDSM relationship that fulfills their respective needs to control and be controlled. This relationship flourishes into more than just lust, pleasantly surprising the audience with a fairy-tale romantic end, breaking the social boundaries of what love can be.
Despite that fact that the plot description may ring alarm bells to those with an intersectional-feminist disposition like myself, I am here to assure you that surprisingly, the sympathetic yet nuanced portrayal of both characters in conjunction with the offbeat charm of Gyllenhall and Spader, allow you to take a step back and simply enjoy it for what it is: A camp, cheeky yet endearing tale of unconventional romance. 10/10.