Taglines: The story of a demanding boss and the woman who loves his demands.
Secretary movie storyline. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), is a socially awkward and emotionally sensitive youngest daughter of a dysfunctional family. She has to adjust to normal life after having been hospitalized following an incident of dangerous self-harm.
She learns to type, starts to date an acquaintance from high school named Peter, and begins to work as a secretary for an eccentric attorney, named E. Edward Grey (James Spader), who hires her despite her stilted social skills, unprofessional appearance and scoring higher than anyone he’s ever interviewed therefore being really highly overqualified. Edward explains that it’s dull work and they don’t use computers, however Lee remarks that she is okay with these conditions.
Though at first Grey appears highly irritated by Lee’s typos and other innocuous mistakes, it soon becomes apparent that he is sexually aroused by her submissive behavior. After he confronts her about her propensity for self-injury and commands that she never hurt herself again, the two embark on a BDSM (B&D (bondage and discipline) with S&M (sadomasochism or sadism and masochism) relationship. Lee experiences a sexual and personal awakening, and she falls deeply in love. Edward, however, displays insecurity concerning his feelings for Lee, and he shows shame and disgust over his sexual habits. After a sexual encounter in his office, he fires Lee.
During this period of exploration with Edward, Lee has also been attempting to have a more conventional boyfriend in Peter (Jeremy Davies), even engaging in lukewarm sex with him. After Lee is fired from her job, Peter proposes to Lee, who reluctantly agrees to marry him. However, while trying on her wedding gown she leaves and runs to Edward’s office where she declares her love for him.
Edward, still uncertain about their relationship, tests Lee by commanding her to sit in his chair without moving her hands or feet until he returns. Lee willingly complies. Hours pass, as Peter, family members, and acquaintances individually visit Lee to alternately attempt to dissuade or encourage her while Edward watches from afar, completely taken by Lee’s compliance, and his resulting sexual arousal.
Secretary is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway and James Spader as E. Edward Grey. The film is based on a short story from Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill,[1] and explores the relationship between a dominant man and his submissive secretary.
The film was initially screened at several 2002 film festivals and had its domestic theatrical release on September 20, 2002, and in various foreign markets in 2003 and 2004. Secretary grossed $4,059,680 domestically and $5,244,929 internationally, to a total of $9,304,609.
Many changes were made from Mary Gaitskill’s original short story, which was significantly expanded and given greater depth in order to be made into a feature-length film. Lines of dialogue were changed; Lee’s statement, “I’m so stupid” became a fantasy-sequence cry of “I’m your secretary,” which the director thought far more “celebratory.” Additionally, the ending of the story was changed to give a more positive outcome to the relationship. Steven Shainberg stated that he wished to show that BDSM relationships can be normal and was inspired by the film My Beautiful Laundrette, which he feels normalized gay relationships for audiences in the 1980s.
A central component to the film, the office spaces of Edward and Lee, took form after two years of planning by Shainberg and production designer Amy Danger, who had collaborated with Shainberg on several projects. The desire to have the office feel homemade and express Edward’s interest in the growing of plants led Danger to juxtapose a natural decor in the office with a predominantly artificial outside world.
Speaking of her choices, Danger compares the office with the rest of the film’s locations: “All the materials I used [in the office] were natural: natural wood, bamboo, ironwork … If I wasn’t using natural materials, it was natural colors, like [in] the botanical wallpaper.” In contrast, “everything [in the larger world] was fake … I covered Lee’s house in plastic sheeting, and used artificial, manufactured colors.”
Secretary (2002)
Directed by: Steven Shainberg
Starring: James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Patrick Bauchau, Stephen McHattie, Jessica Tuck, Amy Locane, Mary Joy, Michael Mantell, Sabrina Grdevich, Julene Renee
Screenplay by: Erin Cressida Wilson & Mary Gaitskill
Production Design by: Amy Danger
Cinematography by: Steven Fierberg
Costume Design by: Marjorie Bowers, Harold R. Brown
Set Decoration by: Michael Baker, Michael Murray
Art Direction by: Nick Ralbovsky
Makeup Department: Raqueli Dahan, Robert Hall
Music by: Angelo Badalamenti
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexuality, some nudity, depiction of behavioral disorders, and language.
Distributed byu: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: September 20, 2002
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