Secretary

Has anyone else had a chance to catch this yet?
I honestly thought the movie was such a blast...
James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal are both absolutely phenomenal in their roles here.
My only real gripe is that the ending felt a little bit... well, kind of underwhelming...

IMDb

I thought the movie was pretty cool.

Given everything we've seen from Kika before, I can't say I'm surprised 😉

The whole thing felt a bit weird to me. Though, honestly, I wouldn't mind having a secretary like that.

Hmm... I don't know about all of this... to me, the whole movie just felt so intensely erotic and charged...
It was actually pretty cool... and they didn't even have to rely on those typical, cliché sexual scenes (I mean... they show things, sure... but it's more of a dark, sadistic vibe rather than being sexual in the conventional sense, if you know what I mean)...

The whole movie felt incredibly charged, almost erotically intense.

Oh, I’m right there with you on that...

Personally, I think it would be pretty weird if that were happening to me. I don't know... seeing someone else's fetish feels off. But my own? I've always been pretty chill about my own kinks. 🙂

It’s kind of weird—I’ll admit that—but I think watching that movie actually helped me wrap my head around that whole fetish thing, just a little bit. Beyond that, the whole thing is visually stunning and the lead actress? Absolutely incredible.

Both the actress and the actor are absolutely phenomenal.
When he starts talking with that signature, incredibly sultry and provocative voice of his... and she’s basically telling him to... I don't even know... just shred all those documents... it is honestly just brilliant!
I was truly swept away by it all...
My only real gripe is the very end... during those final five or ten minutes where it felt like... well, it dragged on just a little bit too long for my liking, but oh well...

I’d say the movie was alright, more or less. Sure, they definitely leaned a bit too hard into certain moments—it felt a little over the top at times—but if you can stomach the overall vibe, it’s actually quite tolerable, especially when you consider how much of a "deviant" script we're dealing with here. Honestly, isn't it just an interesting attempt to portray human sexuality through a different lens? I mean, even in modern American psychology, there's this ongoing effort to redefine what we call "normalcy" regarding intimacy, suggesting that anything practiced between consenting adults—whether it's two people or more—should be viewed through a much broader spectrum. Why should we stick to such rigid, outdated definitions when the human experience is so much more complex than that? 😁 😁 ...of participants (and let’s be clear, I am absolutely not taking those extreme, legally actionable cases into account here).

By the way, the whole situation revolves around the fact that the screenplay actually walked away with the win for Best First Screenplay at this year's Independent Spirit Awards!

I thought the movie was absolutely fantastic—so much so that I actually started a thread about it over on Ljes, but honestly, people just don't seem to get what makes it so special...

Has anyone caught this new Steven Spielberg flick yet? Honestly, I think it’s one of the sharpest dark comedies to hit theaters lately. Plus, if you happen to be into the whole S&M scene, you’re in for a real treat 🙏

Wait, hasn't this thread already been made? 😕

That was one wild movie.

The lead actress was incredible! Honestly, I can’t even bring myself to be as hyped about her as Steven Ruiz is. 😁

By the end, I actually had a moment where I wasn't sure about that finale, but give it a few seconds—it really hits home once it sinks in.

BONK! <zvuk dizanja topika>

I caught a screening at AMC Theatres with some friends today. Honestly, it was better than those trashy movies about masochistic secretaries and sadistic bosses. Surprisingly, it was actually *good*. And don't worry—no cheap sex scenes here, folks. There isn't any eroticism to speak of, but if you're looking for that kind of thing, go watch something on HBO.

Once you get past the initial impression—which is the bizarre relationship between the two leads—you can actually start laughing. The movie, point blank, *is* funny. I’ve always enjoyed a comedy that possesses enough wit and heart that the jokes don't just rely on parodying other films or gross-out humor. If they happen to be a bit... unconventional, that's just a bonus.

But once you move past the second impression—that this is a black comedy—comes the third: the realization that it's actually a tender little drama about two people who are far too insecure and ashamed of themselves to establish a norm... okay, a nenormalan romantic connection. Once I realized that, I found myself actually rooting for them to end up together. My god, there are all sorts of people out there, aren't there? 😁 👍

It occurred to me just now that, if you stretch the definition a little, you could call this a romantic comedy. After all, we have two people who want to be together, right? Plus a whole string of comedic situations arising from that. So, there you have it: a rom-com. 😈 😁
I won't be recommending this to my dad or my sister, because they'd probably just give me a weird look. Oh well, not everyone can handle this kind of humor! 😁

A very entertaining film, operating on more than one level. 👍

The movie was a letdown for me... barely got a laugh here and there... the pacing is all over the place... plus, I can't stand James Spader as an actor... sure, there were a few funny moments, but they felt like tiny islands in a massive sea of disappointment.

The cinematography is honestly stunning; there’s something visually gorgeous in pretty much every single frame, just total eye candy. Jeremy Davies has really carved out this niche for himself as the go-to guy for those slow-burn, methodical characters, too. And having Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader on the roster? Man, 😛 James Spader 😛 is just something else. Seriously, grab some ice cream—I think I saw an AMC Theatres nearby that actually lets you bring treats into the auditorium, which is the absolute dream—and just settle in. 😛

The only thing missing from this movie for me was a switch. 😳 I was really expecting some sort of S/M switch dynamic between them.

On the flip side, that one scene with the shadow/saddle/carrot felt like overkill.
Why?
Because most of the kinky stuff happened spontaneously, unplanned, or sparked by something more or less accidental... It just flowed so naturally.
But for that specific moment, he had to set everything up beforehand, almost "with intent," which isn't how his character usually operates... So that scene felt a bit out of place.

All things considered, it’s an unusual film with a beautifully nuanced take on "perversion"—something that is usually portrayed through such tired, bad stereotypes.

Even though I found myself laughing several times, I don't view this as a comedy at all. And I mean that in the best way possible. 🙂

I caught this at an AMC Theatres last year, so the specifics are a bit fuzzy now, but I gotta say, I really liked it. It’s just a good, positive movie... Leaves you with a great feeling, and the fact that it tackles some pretty unconventional themes is a huge plus.

It was easy to relate to them...😁

I honestly think that movie is fantastic. I actually just grabbed a copy on Blu-ray the other day, and it’s such a gem.😍 😍 😍

All I can say is—by the time the credits rolled—I still hadn't the slightest clue what the point of that movie actually was.

Well... this thread regarding one of my all-time favorites has finally resurfaced.

Superb acting. A superb film. I find myself admiring every single second of it.😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍

Watched the DVD, and I must say, I was thoroughly impressed.
It is quite refreshing when a production actually tackles a complex subject without resorting to the usual lazy tropes of labeling characters as merely "stupid" or "pathetic." Instead, they managed to present everything with a sense of balance—capturing those moments that feel both grounded and surreal, both deeply human and genuinely humorous. The lead actress inhabited her role so naturally that it felt effortless; she truly excelled.
However, I found the scene involving the saddle to be entirely superfluous, and the conclusion felt somewhat forced.