It may have taken over a year for it to happen, but I think
I’ve finally found a good thing to
come out of last year’s Fifty Shades Of Grey adaptation: It brought further
attention to another, far better film exploring S&M because we desperately
wanted an alternative. Specifically, 2002’s Secretary, a film that seriously
deserves getting some form of mainstream attention even if it’s through a tangential
connection to a rather weak offering. With a mixture of genuine understanding and
realistic characters, even considering the scope of their… actions, let’s say,
it managed to give a very reasonable, sympathetic and frequently funny
depiction of that type of lifestyle. It’s the kind of film that I personally
have all the respect for because it managed to show kindness to an area of
sexuality that, up until that point, had mainly been used for cheap jokes and
even cheaper exploitation (Body Of Evidence, anyone?).
So, after making a film about a famous photographer which also delved into certain elements of fringe culture, writer/director Steven Shainberg has been quiet for the last ten years. Then news hit of his latest film being released in Australia, in a sci-fi film festival no less, and I made my way down to Randwick faster than most of the horses that made the area famous. But is the trip worth it, cinematically at least?
So, after making a film about a famous photographer which also delved into certain elements of fringe culture, writer/director Steven Shainberg has been quiet for the last ten years. Then news hit of his latest film being released in Australia, in a sci-fi film festival no less, and I made my way down to Randwick faster than most of the horses that made the area famous. But is the trip worth it, cinematically at least?
