Secretary

2002 Directed by Steven Shainberg

Assume the position.

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.

Maggie Gyllenhaal James Spader Jeremy Davies Lesley Ann Warren Stephen McHattie Amy Locane Patrick Bauchau Jessica Tuck Oz Perkins

Alternative Titles

Secretary - Womit kann ich dienen?, 风流老板俏秘书, The Secretarty, La secretaria, Secretaria, Секретарката

comedy drama romance

104 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Lulu ★★★★ 8

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

homegirl went on hunger strike for days just to get james spader to spank her again
Review by Katie ★★★★½ 1

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

i too would go on a hunger strike for james spader.
Review by Erin ★★★★★ 11

In high school, I was super fascinated with sex. I was also paranoid, and I was afraid to search out anything explicit online. I took the "18 and older" warning seriously; I thought if the government caught 17 yo me looking at porn, they would arrest me. So. I turned to softcore in movies to help me understand sex, and you know, get a little titillation.
At first, watching softcore was either by accident or by chance. I watched a ton of movies on my iPod touch's Crackle app because I could easily sneak these viewings from the comfort of my bed with my headphones in. It was a joy (honestly) to stumble upon the made-for-men erotica of Heavy Metal.…
Review by i, melody ★★★★

”BITCH! Why you mad? Cause my pussy pops SEVERELY and yours DON’T.”
— Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) to Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson)
Review by 🌹 Steve G 🌹 ★★★★ 12

I'm afraid this is going to be one of those reviews where I end up going on and on and on about someone in it rather than being about the actual film. Sorry.
It seems to be quite a personal trait. Whenever I read reviews from people on my activity page, they may well pay some attention to the performances and the people in it but they can usually reign themselves in to the point where they actually mention other aspects of the film in some depth. Me? I just go on aimlessly deconstructing and then reconstructing the performances in the film and completely forgetting half of what I was going to say when the film finished.
But why change…
Review by Mr. DuLac ★★★★ 5

Who's to say that love needs to be soft and gentle?
-Dr. Twardon
First time I've had the chance to see the entire film.
The reason I liked this movie isn't because of the odd subject matter, but because the "love story", for lack of a better term, seems more heart felt and genuine to me then most romantic films that seem to come out every year. James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal are damn near perfect for these roles making Peter and Lee seem just like normal people struggling to understand who they are.

Recent reviews

Review by oomul ½

probably something here abt transferring traumatic family dynamics into the workplace but in the meantime like ........what Garbage.
Review by alexis ★★

what da hale
Review by ilikescifi ★★★½

Secretary Maggie Gyllenhall embarks on a bizarre affair with her boss
Review by van goth ★★★½

the relationship dynamic between employer and employee will always kinda make me feel icky (i know both ppl were consenting in this but STILL) but the scene on the desk where maggie gyllenhaal covers james spader's thumb with her pinky so tenderly has been seared into my brain for YEARS....love this weird lil flick <3
Review by JJ ★½

I'm genuinely confused on why so many people on this app enjoyed this. I will admit some parts are hilarious (Spader's performance in particular), but the question is whether they are intentional or not.
Review by betchass ★★★★

Proof that I’ll sit through anything for Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Also this had some really solid art direction and shot choices WOW!
Review by verbisdiablo ★★★★

getting any sort of job without references? I don’t believe it
Review by erf45 ★★★½

Okay I’m sure this has been brought up but how has e l James not been more publicly called out for literally stealing this movie?? His name is literally mr. Grey. This movie was honestly great. It was funny to me when I’m not too sure it was supposed to. Maybe it was Maggie gyhrnhall’s overacting or the fact that James spaded is the least sexy man. Honestly a good love story.
Review by Scott Miller ★★★½

Watched it on a whim because I’m exploring films that I never had any interest in. Not sure why I didn’t want to see it, but probably bc the film is totally not what I expected. I totally get Maggie Gyllenhaal now. She really does a great job in a hard role. I’m glad that movies like this get made, meaning independent, in general, and unique world view specifically.