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Last updated: 05 Jun 2026 at 22:33 UTC

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Review of by Michelle W — 16 Dec 2009

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I commend this film for even attempting this topic and I was expecting something entirely different.

The film showed us these lives slowly and cautiously. treated the characters with care. This is intriguing, because it makes us care about the characters they're not just vehicles to move the story forward, we empathise with and become much more receptive to their strangeness.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader were fantastic. It's weird seeing Spader in a role that is not in Boston Legal, and he does a fantastic job being old and harsh.

The slowness of this film, I think adds to the tension, this strangeness. It makes us interested, we want to learn about these characters and gives us time to think about the rather heavy ideas. I am not entriely sure whether this film is saying anything or not, but I am inclined to say that it is just showing us another view of the world, another way of living.

It is this uncertainty that makes me unsure of this film, a film that I otherwise was very pleased with.

This review of Secretary (2002) was written by on 16 Dec 2009.

Secretary has generally received positive reviews.

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