Movie Night! -"Secretary"

Secretary As reviewed by Jennie Kermode “Stories of forbidden love have always been popular with film-makers, but it's rare for any film to take on the challenge of depicting a love which a sizable proportion of its audience might also wish to forbid. Secretary is just that; it has all the elements of traditional movie romance (they meet, they become attached to each other, he can't come to terms with his feelings, she encounters a rival for her affections, etc.), but it's built around a relationship whose foundation is physical pain. Some critics have called this a 'battle of the sexes', but it's nothing of the sort. It's an intimate portrayal of two people struggling to reach one another despite his fear and her lack of confidence. It's a testament to the need to leave politics out of the bedroom and just look at things honestly once in a while. In this context, it's pleasing that no effort is made to hide the age difference between the two actors, nor to set aside the matter of their working relationship. Secretary is strongest while depicting the growing tensions between its central characters and their various forms of release. Where it encounters more difficulty is in dealing with the standard tropes of the romance film. Though the heroine's frustrations with his lack of compatible desire are presented effectively and with humour, it's hard not to feel sorry for Peter (Jeremy Davis), the childhood sweetheart who hopes to marry her. Ultimately, he's used by both central characters, and that fact that this is largely down to the heroine not having analysed her own feelings doesn't make it any prettier. What's best about this film is that it never panders to its audience, yet it nevertheless makes an effective case for a lifestyle which many viewers will be encountering for the first time. It presents its subject matter on its own terms. Accusations that it is merely pornography can be easily dismissed; there's actually very little flesh on show here compared to the average blockbuster film. The focus is not really sexual, nor even sadomasochistic, but is more about the blossoming of personalities through the exploration of dominant and submissive feelings. Passionate and intelligent, this is a delightful small film deserving of a wider audience.”