This past week, I had the extreme pleasure of getting a hold of a movie I had wanted in my collection from the first time I set eyes on it. Secretary, released by Lions Gate, has managed to sit in the back of my mind until I finally sat down to write about it. Let me say up front that some of the content is a little extreme (for lack of a better word) and starts out dealing with cutting (self mutilation) and moves on from there to an S&M (Sadist/masochist) theme. If either of these topics is offensive or just doesn't sit well with you, steer clear because the story is based primarily on these two topics.

We open our story on Lee Holloway. Lee (brilliantly played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) has been sheltered in one way or another for most of her life. When we meet her for the first time, she is being released from a mental institution on the day of her sister's wedding. You can see almost immediately why Lee has been cut off from the world. We meet her mother, who seems terrified that she has a daughter as "odd" as Lee is and is over eager to encourage even the slightest inclination towards normality. Then there's her Father, who obviously loves his daughter very much but loves the bottle more and is prone to fits of temper because of it. To cope with the pain of a family life that she can't talk about and the pain of feeling out of sorts with this particular reality, Lee became a cutter early in life. A tool she effectively uses to purge the pain and frustration when it gets to unmanageable levels.

As the pressure in her household builds, Lee starts to look to make a change in her life and decides to try for a secretary position. She's painfully shy and has never held a job before. Stepping into E. Edward Grey's (James Spader) office, she has more than one strike against her. She is an innocent and more than inexperienced when it comes to dealing and interacting with the world. As it turns out, so is Mr. Grey. What starts out as just a typing job becomes so much more as the two of them start to see the similarities between their two personalities. When Mr. Grey gives Lee "permission" to stop cutting and start to live her life for herself, Lee begins to see her place in the world. She begins to find in Mr. Grey a precarious balance between pleasure, pain, and love, in a world that she was always taught that suffering of any kind was acceptable.

The only thing standing in the way is Mr. Grey's fervent belief that because he wants an S&M based relationship, that he is somehow damaged and unlovable himself. Lee is determined to pursue this love that most tell her is unhealthy. It will take an extreme act of faith on her part to prove to Mr. Grey that she knows he loves her and that she longs to know and love him back.

This movie is simply amazing to me. They have taken an idea that has been very taboo for so long and put it into a mainstream movie that is tender, touching, and most importantly, realistic. Usually when you're dealing with an S&M topic, you're seeing dark dingy settings and a level of cruelty that quite frankly is not what most people who enjoy the lifestyle look for. They didn't do this at all in this movie. The sets and the lighting were done in such a way that it's hard to believe that this isn't a more mainstream topic! The offices (where most of the story takes place) are bright and in a sense full of life and growth. From the orchids that Mr. Grey grows and tends to the blossoming we see in Lee. Even the costuming sits well with the setting. You're not seeing leather bondage gear but normal office wear that still manages to look just as erotic (if not more so) then someone pointedly "dressed" to be sexy. There is a scene or two that you see Lee in collar and cuffs but they're brief and very tastefully done.

The scenes themselves were shot in such a way that they literally dripped with eroticism. Yet, there was nothing outwardly gratuitous or over the top about them. It was in the subtle lighting and posing of each scene that the erotic nature of the story shows through. It becomes very clear that this is not the abuse of an employee but something shared between to people that goes past sex and taps into deep hidden place in both of them. In fact, it taps into a place where most people are told not to go.

Special Features on the disk include: Writer and Director Commentary, Behind the Scenes Featurette, Photo Gallery, and English/Spanish Subtitles. Secretary is presented in 16x9 Wide Screen and the sound in Dolby 5.1 Surround. The sound and picture quality are both excellent and the soundtrack for the film (available from Lions Gate Records) really adds to the atmosphere and emotion that you're seeing from scene to scene. The behind the scenes Featurette gives an excellent look at the intention and the extreme thought put into this film. It's really worth a look.

Let me just say, that this movie has probably received the highest praise from me to just about anyone that I've recommended it to. I can't say enough things about the performances by both James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Their transformation and growth in this movie is the whole story. With out it you're left with a dry and meaningless coming of age story. Instead, you watch to very realistic characters come into their own and discover that maybe their "dysfunction" isn't truly a dysfunction when they're together. You see Mr. Grey grow into someone who feels worthy of love and you watch Lee grow from stumbling and stammering to elegant and graceful. Not to mention a bit willful!

The thing that truly sticks with me about this movie is that through it all, no one in the telling of the story suggests that this is a "problem" that needs to be corrected or overcome. I tend to believe that every true movie fanatic is one because they've managed to see at least one movie that changes the way that they see the world. As sappy and cliché as it sounds, this was one of those movies for me. If you're into or curious about the S&M lifestyle it is definitely a must see.