This one was really a pleasant surprise. I was expecting a black comedy as well as a movie that deals with kinky fetishes. It's both of those things but, surprisingly, it's also a very nice and sweet love story. Yes, really. Maggie Gyllenhaal is wonderful. I think this is easily my favorite role of hers. She's funny, adorable, and sexy. James Spader's great but Maggie really makes the movie something special.
Obviously not for all tastes but I would say that you should try it out, even if the BDSM stuff doesn't float your boat. I think you'll be surprised at how much you like it. One thing that I would like to address is that I see a lot of other reviewers who liked the movie saying they hated the ending. Gotta say I can't disagree more with this. I assume these people would have preferred a more downbeat ending. Frankly, that would have ruined the whole experience for me and I would have subtracted points from my score. The fact that the ending left me with the warm fuzzies is a large part of why I enjoyed it so much.
Obviously not for all tastes but I would say that you should try it out, even if the BDSM stuff doesn't float your boat. I think you'll be surprised at how much you like it. One thing that I would like to address is that I see a lot of other reviewers who liked the movie saying they hated the ending. Gotta say I can't disagree more with this. I assume these people would have preferred a more downbeat ending. Frankly, that would have ruined the whole experience for me and I would have subtracted points from my score. The fact that the ending left me with the warm fuzzies is a large part of why I enjoyed it so much.