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Mary Gaitskill's infamous short story comes to the screen as a film of startling humor and feeling.
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| (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) |
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It sounds sick and twisted, but the miracle of Shainberg's film is that it truly is romance.
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| (Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews) |
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I don't know about you, but I found all these outrageously romantic maneuvers both funny and endearing.
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| (Andrew Sarris, New York Observer) |
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The director, Steven Shainberg, has succeeded by focusing intently on his characters, making them quirky individuals rather than figures of fun.
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| (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times) |
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A sly female empowerment movie, although not in a way anyone would expect.
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| (Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies) |
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It does what good films do best; that is to provoke us, push our buttons, make us think and maybe even entertain us in the process.
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| (Merle Bertrand, Film Threat) |
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One of the best of a growing strain of daring films... that argue that any sexual relationship that doesn't hurt anyone and works for its participants is a relationship that is worthy of our respect.
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(William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Secretary is weird, but it works.
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(Mary F. Pols, Contra Costa Times)
Works because of a fine screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson and because these two characters are so weirdly likable and wonderfully portrayed by Spader and Gyllenhaal.
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| (Jean Lowerison, San Diego Metropolitan) |
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Shainberg’s adult fairy tale works because Gyllenhaal is simply marvelous, fetching and vulnerable and able to enlist not just our empathy but our faith in her troubled young girl.
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| (Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) |
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A strangely compelling and brilliantly acted psychological drama.
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| (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Health) |
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The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
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| (Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press) |
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If you think a sado-masochistic relationship is sick and perverted, this original movie will make you think again.
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| (Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve) |
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The one thing that’s consistently involving in Secretary is Maggie Gyllenhaal as the secretary.
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| (Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal) |
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Not every movie couple has to look like Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.
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| (Josh Larsen, Sun Publications) |
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A small groundbreaking comedy.
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| (Stephen Holden, New York Times) |
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By turns mordantly funny, startling, and erotic, it's a spicy little cocktail surprise, with fine acting by Spader and a phenomenal breakthrough performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
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| (Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review) |
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What keeps the movie going is the riotously funny and supremely self-controlled performance by Gyllenhaal.
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| (Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter) |
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A good piece of writing.
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| (Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press) |
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A picture with heart. You shouldn't leave feeling soiled or bruised. Just touched.
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| (Richard Leiby, Washington Post) |
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If S&M seems like a strange route to true love, maybe it is, but it's to this film's (and its makers') credit that we believe that that's exactly what these two people need to find each other - and themselves.
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| (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) |
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This is one of those movies that could have gone all wrong, but it hits all the right notes.
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| (Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper) |
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It is truly original in its tone, its choices made and paths taken.
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| (Steven Rosen, Denver Post) |
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Goes to extremes, but it takes slow, purposeful steps to get there.
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| (Joe Leydon, San Francisco Examiner) |
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Tone is critical, and that's where Shainberg hits pay dirt. Secretary has enough genuine laughs to eliminate the potential twitters and snickers, and it treats Edward and Lee as people. We end up caring about what happens to these two individuals, even as we smile and laugh at their antics. It occurs to me that it would be very easy to make a movie like this judgmental and mean-spirited, but Shainberg deftly avoids that trap. Some of the credit must go to Spader, who is his usual solid self, and Gyllenhaal, who is amazing, but the director knows exactly where he wants his characters to go, and successfully takes them there. Secretary is a romantic comedy for those who go into sugar shock from the usual entries into the genre. Also, unless your partner has some unusual proclivities, this might not be the best choice for a ‘date movie’.
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| (James Berardinelli , Reelviews) |
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One of the most significant moviegoing pleasures of the year.
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| (Rod Armstrong, Reel.com) |
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Few films have ever captured the essence of a truly sado-masochistic relationship as this and few actors could play the repressed creepy sensual weirdo better than Spader
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| (Michael Szymanski, Zap2it.com) |
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Shainberg is not making fun of dominant-submissive behaviour at all. Rather, he's merely stating that different people need different kinds of love, and sometimes the most bizarre activity can actually be healthier than the semblance of normalcy we aspire to. Or that's what I got at least! The film itself is absolutely amazing to look at, densely designed in a kind of Jeunet & Caro meets Frankenstein way. Vivid colours and lighting, busy and surreal sets, eerie Angelo Badalamenti music - it all combines to both unsettle us and keep us helplessly gripped. There's a lot of laugh-out-loud humour along the way, usually at some absurd throwaway gag, and it gets quite frightening as well. It's a kind of freeform film, with not much pacing or plot, a few mind-boggling fantasy sequences and a bit too much freakiness to ever let us fall for the characters emotionally. But Spader and Gyllenhaal are perfect in the roles - creepy and endearing, deeply disturbed yet really just craving love. They certainly deserve each other!
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| (Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall) |
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Film of the year... brimful of genius... Love Story meets Blue Velvet.
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| (Mariella Forstrup, Harpers & Queen) |
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A spanking good tale. ****
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| (Glamour) |
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Wickedly enjoyable black comedy... Take your seat, assume the position and enjoy. ****
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(GQ)
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Freshly conceived, small-scale and daring.
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| (Alexander Walker, Evening Standard) |
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Tasteful it ain’t. But bafflingly enough, this is a plausible and engaging story, terrifically performed by Spader and Gyllemnhaal.” Love is a sickness,nthey say, and in its own sick way, this has fervour and warped, erotic rapture. And it’s very funny.
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| (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian) |
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