Lee Holloway is a troubled young woman who just got released from a mental institution after a nervous breakdown. After her sisters wedding and remembering how crappy her family is as well as feeling back into empty depression, she begins cutting herself again. It’s suggested she get a part time job to kick off her new beginning; she finds herself applying to be a receptionist for prominent but dysfunctional lawyer Edward Gray. He takes her. Gray is a hard boss to lock down, kind one minute, demeaning the next, Lee finds a fascination with him; then comes the day he spanks her. But instead of anger or humiliation, Lee feels alive. After punishing her again, and again, the two form a unlikely bond as dominate and submissive but what’s the boundary between love and obsession?
So off the bat, I’d say this dark dramedy is a way better representation of a BDSM relationship than anything from 50 Shades. Maggie Gyllenhaal does a fantastic job as Lee and she has really good chemistry with James Spader as Gray; they are both exceptionally flawed people that evolve through the story and had well done character arcs. I will say the movie is a slow burn and the humor is a special brand not for everyone. There are some triggers like mental illness and self harm but the movie doesn’t mock these subjects and I feel were covered tastefully. While I laughed my ass off at parts and the movie is also a good character drama. Honestly, while I’m not much for comedies- I was expecting a raunchy sex romp- I was pleasantly surprised to find a damn well done dramedy I’d highly recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
