The Secretary DVD Review
Posted by Phil Montague on 04.03.2003
A twisted tale of Sadomasochism, it's great family viewing!
DVD Review for The Secretary
Many insiders predicted that Maggie Gyllenhaal might get nominated for best actress at this year’s Oscars for her performance in the film “Secretary”. The movie is about a masochist who gets out of the hospital where she is getting treated for her disorder and gets a job as a secretary at a law office. But she soon finds out that the law office will take her deeper into her disorder than ever before.
The Movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal has always been somebody I’ve thought of as an underrated actress since I first saw her as Raven in “Cecil B. Demented” and then “Donnie Darko“. This film is her first full-fledged starring role in her busiest year to date, a year in which she was also in “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind“, “Adaptation”, and “40 Days and 40 Nights”, and she made the most of it, playing a very believable masochist. But she could not pull off this twisted love story without the wonderful role of James Spader as Mr. Grey. Spader pulls off being a sadistic, coked up lawyer perfectly, making for great scenes between the two stars.
This film has a quirky feel to it, and with its has a sick and twisted love story as the focus, it is one of those films that just draws you in and makes you not want to look away. It appeals to the voyeuristic nature of the viewer which makes us want to watch this strange pairing in action. The story was well crafted and builds well to a nice ending in which we see whether or not the masochist and the sadist can really change their ways. This one is not for the kiddies, but it is a highly recommended film to watch.
The Sound
As this is a dialogue heavy film, surround sound does not make too much of a difference here. That being said, the DVD does have a good quality sound to it, and I see nothing to complain about sound-wise.
The Picture
The video transfer is good in widescreen format. I am sure there is a full screen version available too, but I don’t watch movies in full screen as you lose 25% of the picture in doing so.
The Extras
This is where the DVD loses points with me. There is a trailer for the soundtrack, the film, and the 1996 film “Hit Me” starring Elias Koteas, all of which are quickly glossed over. Then there is a behind the scenes type video which doesn’t add all that much to the viewing experience. There is a photo gallery of stills which you see during the film anyway, so why not just pause the DVD if you want to look at stills? And then the commentary is a technical commentary with the director, Steven Shainberg, and the writer, Erin Cressida Wilson, which is interesting but rather dry.
Film: 7.0
Audio: 9.0
Video: 9.0
Extras: 5.0
The 411: This is a film I would definitely recommend watching. However, without many extras to keep you busy, it is one I would just rent. The film is great, but not exactly one you would watch over and over again anyway, so save your film buying money for next week’s release of “Harry Potter” instead.
