The Girlfriend Experience stars adult film actress Sasha Grey as Chelsea, a high-priced escort who offers her wealthy clientele the eponymous service. In other words, on their long, often overnight "dates," she assumes the role of a temporary romantic partner, attending highbrow cultural events, engaging in intellectual discourse, and eating at hip and expensive restaurants, all while expressing an interest in the client's life and work. She keeps a detailed journal about her clients. Chelsea's
live-in boyfriend, a personal trainer (Chris Santos, who previously worked as a personal trainer in the real world), struggles with trying to earn a fair share of the upscale business he brings into his gym. Chris is conflicted when a wealthy client invites him on a weekend trip to Vegas. The couple faces further problems when Chelsea finds herself sincerely attracted to one of her clients, a married screenwriter. Over the course of the film, Chelsea is interviewed by a journalist (played by real-life journo Mark Jacobson, whose reporting on Frank Lucas inspired the film American Gangster), and visits "The Erotic Connoisseur," a sleazy blogger who reviews escort services (portrayed by film critic Glenn Kenny). Director Steven Soderbergh shot The Girlfriend Experience (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) using the same high-definition camera he used on Che. The script is by the writing team David Levien and Brian Koppelman (Rounders), who previously worked with Soderbergh on Ocean's Thirteen. The Girlfriend Experience was shown at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. As with Soderbergh's Bubble, it was released theatrically and on pay-per-view on the same date. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
The movie ends so abruptly (it runs a scant 77 minutes), it's a toss-up as to whether Soderbergh was trying to make an auteur statement or simply lost his mojo.
There are layers upon layers here--a porn star taking on a serious acting role in which she plays a woman whose job is to make herself an object of male fantasy--but it's unclear whether Grey is aware of any of them.
Like a sneaky P.I. seeking weakness, Soderbergh places his camera behind everyday barriers. In half the time, "The Girlfriend Experience" offers as haunting, relentless, incisive and fierce a commentary on human interaction as "Fight Club."
The whole film carries a sort of documentary aesthetic (unsteady camera movements, uncomfortable close-ups, inconsistent sound, etc.) but it remains subtle and unobtrusive throughout.
Soderbergh prouve une fois de plus sa versatilité et sa grande créativité, et ce, indépendamment de la taille du projet ou des noms avec lesquels il est appelé à travailler
It's deliberately chilly, and feels like a series of overheard conversations rather than a story, obliging you to listen for barbs among the trivialities.
Naturalistic performances and stylish, semi-documentary-style cinematography and editing (both courtesy of the director) make for an engrossing, insightful study of internal and interpersonal conflict.
The Girlfriend Experience is no date movie: Soderbergh offers a snappily paced but tonally bleak snapshot of an alienated young woman who has ridden the new culture of personal branding to its psychological and physical limits.
Steven Soderbergh's "The Girlfriend Experience" is the NYC companion to his LA set "Full Frontal". Both are meta-film style experiments that stretch the imagination with it's storytelling approach and performances, but while "Full Frontal" is much more of a Hollywood satire, "The Girlfriend Experience" is a meditation
of the economic state of 00's America and chasing pipe dreams. Brilliant cinematography and a daring plot make this film thought provoking, arresting and always fascinating.
No quotes approved yet for The Girlfriend Experience. Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'The Girlfriend Experience'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
Top Critic
