secretary

I can’t really say I understand the dilemmas plaguing Spader and Gyllenhaal in Secretary (2002), such as the need for a certain type of fulfillment that works impulsively within. Maybe that need to write is an example of such a compulsion. When I watch a movie, that instant urging to write about it never ceases. But sado-masochism isn’t something that means anything to me personally.  Spader’s need to have control and authority, and Gyllenhaal’s embracing, craving, enjoyment of such dominance, and expectance of being subservient to her employer’s demands—at the very heart of Secretary are these, and how the two characters sort of depend on each other to satiate their appetites and satisfy these indulgences are at the forefront.

What Gyllenhaal is willing to go through at the very end might seem a bit too much, a bit too far-fetched, for me personally to swallow, perhaps her willingness to remain in a certain position, at her employer’s desk, for a prolonged period of time is recognized and understood by those with a need to be placed in the dominance position.

This woman carpools with me, and we were having a conversation about S&M when I was talking Secretary with her. She commented that the submissive is the one in actual control because he/she determines how far the dominance goes. Spader, during a point in the film, feels that if Gyllenhaal doesn't leave his employ he'll never be able to stop, telling her to go, expecting her to follow the path many others had taken similarly, while she considers his stoppage of all things spanking (telling her what to eat and in what moderation to do so, scoldingly disapproving typos, how to wear her hair and clothes, etc.) and demanding impossible to deal with. She quit cutting herself because Spader had supplemented his method of control and order over her that took such drastic means to free herself from the pain of an unfulfilling drag of a life (alcoholic father, weakling mother, oddball boyfriend).

 
Spader, also, has the vehicle he needs to release his innermost, somewhat repressed (each secretary, that comes and goes at Spader’s discretion, seems to eventually find liberation and bliss that had been dormant before his control over them offered a chance to break open the cage keeping them in a state of emotional incarceration) desires. Spader tests how far Gyllenhaal is willing to go. He can tell her to eat three peas, a spoonful of creamed potatoes, and as much ice cream as she wants. He could tell her to lean over his desk as he spanks her while Gyllenhaal reads from the document written up with several typos. He could even have her crawl on all fours with a letter in her mouth towards his office. I think he tells her at one point that he would not molest her or force sex upon her person. He masturbates from behind her as she looks on in bewilderment (the back of her shirt stained with semen), and this is like a turning point in their relationship because it is almost like a sign that he has let his predilection towards arousal through the “I tell you what to do and you do it or else I punish you” routine go too far.

 
There’s a threshold to his sado-masochism. Once he reaches that point where actual sex and true romance/affection might become involved, Spader sends his secretary on her way. Gyllenhaal, unlike her predecessors, isn’t about to just go and let Spader hire someone else to replace her as his new sub; he has rescued her and it is almost like she owes him for that. One scene that sticks out to me is when she approaches him and he is fighting what he longs…she can just pet across his hair delicately, that soothing calm befalls him, and if so inclined he could return the favor. These may seem a bit out there to “civilized folk”, but when you are beset with emotional/sexual/psychological dysfunctions that seem rectified when two share a “sub/dom” relationship “behind closed office”, a solution that makes those involved happier and healthier might just be therapeutic. When you’ve had a nervous breakdown, and the only way to find release is by cutting yourself with a razor, perhaps getting a spanking from someone you crush for might actually be a better alternative? The ending shows Gyllenhaal’s proof of her love and devotion to Spader as family, friends, and colleagues (of Spader’s, too!) visit her while she “protests” her dismissal by remaining in a sub position behind his desk, with even Jeremy Davies’ boyfriend trying to shake her resolve and marry him as they had previously intended (although she never truly loved Davies; he was, more or less, a guy there as a possible love interest—a kind of rebound after her release from the mental institution and listless “where do I go from here?” situation prior to taking typing classes and becoming a lawyer’s secretary). Finally, Spader, after feeling reassured that Gyllenhaal is totally committed to him, cradles her in his arms, carrying her away to be coddled, bathed, cherished, and adorned with his love, while her protest received quite a bit of community interest. We’re left believing these two will have a very happy marriage—she has won his heart and is wholly indebted to him, and vice versa—but whether or not the sub/dom part remains intact in their relationship will be left for us to only theorize or wonder.

Gyllenhaal is a revelation to me in this film. While her character is directionless, aloof, off, and even a bit dorky, she has a chance to mold her, shape her, and evolve so by film’s end, this person has grown as a human being. I guess as fate would have it, she finds an ad in the garbage for the position of typist at Spader’s law office in a wrinkled page of classifieds, and by answering it her life would be changed. He gave her life direction (even if it was considered a most unusual direction), purpose (to please him, and, in turn, receive pleasure in kind), and passion (the thoughts of being told what to do and how to do it is like an aphrodisiac). When it comes to arousal and sex, Spader’s done the rounds. So he can convey sexual dysfunction, impotence, desire, and repression with truth and honesty. This is his wheelhouse. His comfort zone. He has played a spectrum of characters across all stratus of life, many where sex complicates and excites, sometimes in equal measure. Cronenberg’s Crash (1996) is the most deviant of Spader’s foray into sexual kink (involving vehicular carnage and body harm as a result; both sexually stimulating to characters revolving around Spader) of a different kind, while I think Secretary shows a side of Spader where he feels compelled to express desire in a different fashion. Crash was too cold to me, while Secretary seemed easier for me to embrace because of Gyllenhaal’s captivating presence, regardless if she was a kook. However, back to Spader, I give this to him: he’s a daring actor unafraid to go places that others wouldn’t dare. And, to Gyllenhaal’s credit, she is buck naked at the very end as Spader caresses her; she’s totally in nirvana. She’s captured her man, and he is hers. All was right in her world. Can Spader remain as satisfied?