| THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
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So yeah. Go see it. |
'cause i don't. not at all. |
and this particular theatre has "love seats" where all the armrests flip up, and the seats rock back. so, under certain circumstances, yes, i like movie theatres. |
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center. color. tire. jail. |
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phucqueue faw q |
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i saw a sneak preview of Secretary with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal. now my new all-time favorite movie. kicked Wild At Heart into second place by a long shot. we saw a preview for Rules of Attraction before the show. it looked really wild. |
True story. |
(If you haven't read the story, in it, the woman stays at home from work after the second incident and is too disgusted and ashamed to call her boss and tell him she's quit. The End.) |
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i have not read the short story, but from the sounds of it, the film is MUCH better. yes, she enjoys it. not just enjoys it, she needs it. it keeps her sane, literally. the reason this is my new favorite movie is because it is slow and broad and deep. it does not rush you through the characters. it takes its time developing very subtle behavioral nuances of the relationship, and therefore does not necessarily require suspension of disbelief. you can get engrossed completely in the story. both Spader and Gyllenhaal play their parts brilliantly. also, it's funny, awfully sexy, sometimes shocking, and quirky as hell - but not quirky in the "Royal Tanenbaums/Rushmore" kind of way. much better than that... not as obvious or forced. go see it! esp if you like or at least don't mind explicit sexuality. |
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I completely agree with your points above, Sarah. I thought Spader and Gyllenhall were perfect -- I especially liked how self-controlled and soft-spoken he was. I also liked the decision to make him full of his own neuroses. I really liked the way that everything outside the office was colored in these garish pinks and blues, while the office and Mr. Grey's home were full of browns and natural colors. Those were the places where you could breathe and be free. I honestly thought the movie was going to end after he fired her. (The short story it's based on ends after she quits.) I was getting really disappointed, but then....yay! I liked the way the "hunger strike" (featured on the TV news) was kind of over the top, and I thought the ending was great. And the movie wasn't cheesy or sleazy or lame -- it was funny and sad and sexy and true. I think everyone here should see it. |
Rules of Attraction is awesome. I bought it the other day... my only real beef is that its 'signature scene' (the split screen conversation) isnt possible.. when they do the pull apart, it is shown it would have been physically impossible for Shannyn Sossamon to grab Van Der Beeks glasses... theres suspension of disbelief, and then theres that. come on. Did anyone listen to the DVD commentary with Carrot Top? Oh god he's so lame, he made OJ jokes. OJ SIMPSON JOKES. and Lewinsky jokes... yeh, great practical joke guys. Carrot Top. Whoo |
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i thought secretary was just as good the second time i saw it a few weeks ago. i'm glad you got as much out of it as i did, spider. my favorite scene in the movie is when spader sits her down and asks her, "what's with the sewing kit, lee?" here is some copy from an interview with Gyllehaal - i think she does a great job of nailing down why it is such a great movie: Q: Are there some comedic aspects to it? MG: Oh yes, absolutely. It's definitely funny. It's a romantic comedy but it's a romantic comedy about real people who are both tender, loving and happy, and also broken and dark and complicated - like everyone is. It's definitely funny. Q: Do you feel it glorifies S&M? MG: I think it's less about S&M than everyone seems to think it is before they see it. I think that S&M in the movie is in a lot of ways a metaphor for the complications in life, for the fact that there is both light and dark in every relationship and in every person. And that pain helps to define what pleasure is. Without it, there would be no concept of pleasure. I think it glorifies S&M only in the sense that whatever it is that you need to wake yourself up, to be present and be aware, do it. Be aware why you are doing it, but do it. |
I enjoyed that scene, as well, Sarah. I felt so embarrassed and afraid for her when he caught her with her instruments out on her desk...I had to pause the film and take a deep breath, her shame was so strong to me. But I loved that she was so painfully exposed in front of him, and he was so gentle and compassionate with her. It just was so right and true that the only way she could stop hurting herself was by obeying his direction to stop. I also liked the scene in which Lee's father is hospitalized, and she drives to Mr. Grey's house but can't make herself ask him for what she wanted. I don't know...I felt that was also very real and true. I think this is one of the most honest movies I've ever seen. (Remember how much Cyst loved "Happiness"? That's how I feel about this.) We get to see these two people complete open and raw and exposed in front of us and to each other, and their relationship is honest and healthy....I don't know, it's like we get to see the real people who aren't hiding anything, whereas everyone else is a mystery. Goddamn, I love this movie. |
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exactly. he resolved for her in a few minutes what years of therapy in a mental institution could not. "Lee, we can't keep doing this 24 hours a day." "Why not!" the way she delivered that response was absoutely perfect. brilliant. or after Lee and Peter have sex, he asks her, "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "No..." she replies, with the subtlest hint of disappointment. which makes you want to laugh, it's terribly funny. i think what's most seductive about the movie is that it matters not at all that the characters know very little about each other factually. the facts, the stories, the histories are nearly irrelevant to the relationship. they love and adore each other not in spite of but because of each other's weaknesses. and their weaknesses compliment each other and essentially they help each other become stronger and more complete. goddamn i love this movie too. |
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And I disagree that you should only watch it once--I've gotten a lot out of it every time I watch it. Because it's great. For all the reasons discussed above. I also liked that S&M is presented with a sense of normality--although Spader seems conflicted about it sometimes, I think the movie may have helped a lot of people overcome hangups about S&M. Maybe that's just my mind, though. Anyway. Yeah. |
Because he's a good person (also evident in the fact that he didn't take exploit Lee's weakness when she revealed her cutting to him), it bothers him that he has this compulsion -- and that's why Lee is good for him. She allows him to accept and express that part of himself in a mutually beneficial and loving relationship. And he, of course, is good for her -- remember when he asks her why she cuts herself and then provides the answer for her? The look on her face and the way she said "Yes, that's it!" (or whatever the line was)....you can see they understand each other on the most fundamental level. The one part of the movie I didn't get was how Mr. Grey knew Peter's cell number, when he called Peter to tell him Lee was at the office. |
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caller ID. |
And the writer and director did mention the color schemes! They also said that at first they wanted Lee to go into the office on the day of her interview wearing a red raincoat, to make her look like Little Red Riding Hood entering the wolf's lair, but they decided to make it purple -- purple being the color of bruises and also a color that a lot of little girls choose as their favorite. I liked the movie even better the second time. I noticed that James Spader never smiles genuinely until the end -- before that, his smiles always have a little bit of hurt in them, like he's wincing. I love the part, too, when he fires her and sits in the chair away from his desk, and she runs her fingers through his hair -- his eyes close, and at first it seems that he's moving into her caress, but then he brings his knees up and you see that he's writhing away from her. That was awesome. God, he and she were excellent. |
it's so sweet and sad. perfect love story. |
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