Jack meets Jill in a perverse love story, "The Secretary" where the true meaning of love is in pain and submission. This movie pushes the limits of sensibility like "The Last Tango in Paris", especially in two scenes involving a bend-over submissive relishing the abuse. However at two hours, the sefl-centered, enticing monologue wears thin. If we could understand the troubling tendencies of one E. Edward Gray (James Spader) or the self-mutilating behavior of one Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), we could appreciate the film more. There are sparks of inventiveness. Where else does one see a 'secretary wanted' sign lit like a motel vacancy? Or the red pen circled mistakes that surely warrant a spanking. Or the smartly dressed neophyte coming to a job interview like little Red (Blue) Riding Hood about to meet the wolf. What "The Secretary" lacks in substance, it surely makes up in style.
