journal features

movie review - Secretary

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2003.05.10

I didn't really know what to expect from this one. Certainly, the cover (the Canadian cover, that is) leaves a pretty distinct impression. But it was the movie's reviews that had drawn me to it, and I'm glad they did. This is a surprisingly strong movie, given that it's about a 20-ish self-mutilating submissive girl and her 40-ish nutjob boss and the strange relationship that forms between them.

This is not a terribly easy movie to watch, but there is not one spare frame or unnecessary line throughout. This is one of those flicks where you find yourself thinking about the characters as if they were people you met.

Not recommended.

rand()m quote

In the wake of 9/11, we [in America] have made the decision as a society that we can never again create something in which we can take pride, for fear that someone will destroy it. Moreover, we must suppress any trace of individualism, lest someone have the desire to rise above the bland sameness that protects us. I have, alas, no idea how to recapture our courage.

—Anonymous post to boingboing.net, 2009