Secretary
2002 · Directed by Steven Shainberg
Original language: English
- romance
- drama
- comedy
The story
A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.
What it’s like
Soft, uneasy domestic light with careful, symmetrical framing: office interiors in pale greens and beiges, the glow of fluorescent tubes and typewriter keys, and a cool, tidy palette that keeps warming in small, deliberate touches of red. The camera tends to hold still and let awkward silences sit, with close, observant shots of hands, paperwork and faces that register every flicker of discomfort. The score is sparse and quiet, leaving room for ticking clocks, keystrokes and the hum of an empty office. Its vibe is prim, darkly comic and tender, with a sly, unsettling warmth that suits a late evening alone or a curious rewatch rather than a casual background watch. The pacing is measured and deliberately awkward, and the emotional register swings between dry humour and real vulnerability, following a fragile young woman and her guarded employer slowly, tentatively finding a way to understand each other. Intensity is moderate: sexual content and BDSM-themed scenes are explicit in suggestion and frank in tone, with some spanking and humiliation, a brief reference to self-harm and past psychiatric treatment, and no gore. It is not gentle. It is for viewers who enjoy unconventional romance, quirky tension and character studies about intimacy, power and self-acceptance.
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