A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.
Acting
Gyllenhaal's trembling vulnerability meets Spader's glacial control.
Writing
Makes the unspeakable weirdly... romantic? Somehow?
Production
That pink office is a whole character by itself.
Director
Steven Shainberg
James Spader
Mr. Grey
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Lee Holloway
Jeremy Davies
Peter
Lesley Ann Warren
Joan Holloway
Stephen McHattie
Burt Holloway
Patrick Bauchau
Dr. Twardon
Jessica Tuck
Tricia O'Connor
Osgood Perkins
Jonathan
Amy Locane
Lee's Sister
Mary Joy
Sylvia
Michael Mantell
Stewart
Lily Knight
Paralegal
Sabrina Grdevich
Allison
Lacey Kohl
Louisa
Julene Renee
Jessica
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film is based on a Mary Gaitskill short story that's far darker and more ambiguous—Shainberg basically rom-com'd trauma.
This premiered at Sundance the same year as Spider-Man, making 2002 the year Maggie Gyllenhaal pivoted from indie darling to Hollywood's idea of 'unconventional hot.'
US
