Secretary
dir. Steven Shainberg

Opens Fri Sept 27 at the Metro and Meridian theaters.

Nothing, nothing, nothing is more classically delicious than the sexual tension between a young girl and an older authority figure. Desire is undeniable, whether or not it's illicit, and eagerness to please, when conflated with a surfeit of power, can set the stage for an irresistible game: How much can you get away with and still remain within the boundaries of propriety? Nabokov knew it, Sting knew it, and it looks like Secretary's director, Steven Shainberg, knows it just as well.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, a slightly retarded nymphet who's just been released from a loony house. Lee is sweet and shy and enjoys cutting herself with X-Acto knives. Her sometimes-boyfriend, Peter (Jeremy Davies), is also sweet and shy and would like to marry her, but Lee seems a little too preoccupied with her hobbies to return his affections.

Lee interviews for a secretarial job at the creepy boudoir-style law office of E. Edward Grey (James Spader), who hires her on the spot to transcribe letters on a typewriter. At once, Edward begins berating Lee over typos and commanding her to perform demeaning tasks (like rooting through the dumpster) for his gratification. When that goes over well, he moves on to ritual spanking. Lee's naiveté and mental irregularities make it impossible for her to know what is and isn't acceptable behavior, and she becomes addicted to his attentions. A subversive relationship develops--Edward keeps her carefully at arm's length, and she remains infatuated.

This is a very good film for the usual reasons, but two things make it fascinating. Peter is a small but important character; he gets kicked to the curb for loving Lee--she prefers to be abused and toyed with--and so he exists only to underscore that part of her personality. Secretary's other singular quality is that the heroine's problem is never resolved. She entrenches herself deeper and deeper in her "sick" dependency, and ultimately, it becomes her virtue. Lee is luminous and childlike, and although she's oblivious, she's never a victim, and you congratulate her for learning to know exactly what she wants.