The Girlfriend Experience

June 28th, 2009

Sex, Lies, and Economics

By Jeff

The Girlfriend Experience is like American Psycho but with uber-slick NYC wall street yuppie/delusional psychopath Patrick Bateman replaced by an uber-chic NYC call girl/jaded narcissist named Chelsea (played by real-life porno sensation Sasha Grey).

After her dates with some of New York City’s wealthiest men, Chelsea goes home and records her evening out in her ‘books,’ which she keeps to remember what certain clients like and dislike. She describes what movie her date takes her to, where they dined, what they ate, the type and price of the wine or champagne they drank, the luxurious evening dress she was wearing, and of course, what happened when they retired to the bedroom.

This is done to provide us an intimate look into a high-class hooker’s lifestyle as possible. We learn all about her boyfriend, Chris, who is a struggling trainer for an upscale gym. It becomes clear early on that both Chelsea and her boyfriend work in professions where people need them, whether for some late-night company and sex, or to improve their health and body.

Both of their ‘customers’ rely on having our main characters’ utter-most confidence instilled in them, all the time, which often requires Chelsea and Chris to pretend, fake, or lie their way through a session. They’ve developed strong armor, but after years of internalizing, where does that leave them emotionally?

The film is shot slightly fragmented, with certain scenes popping in immediately before or after the main narrative thread of the story. This adds an exciting, tense effect which raises the stakes of the story and certainly forces you to pay attention more closely than you would if the film unfolded in routine, linear pattern.

Also contributing to the unique tone of The Girlfriend Experience is the soundtrack, comprised of equal amounts authentic, straight-from-the-streets drum beats (that really work in heightening the movement of scenes), and a nicely contrasting, richly textured synth score that lies in wait underneath.

Director Steven Soderbergh has been on a role recently, with his epic two-part masterpiece Che having been just released last year to critical acclaim. Finally, it seems this renowned artist has moved on from telling stories of a certain sophisticated gang of con men repeatedly robbing Vegas casinos (see Ocean’s Eleven trilogy). 

Throughout his distinguished career, he’s always been able to capture beautiful camera sequences (a true master of composition), and draw out captivating performances (Sasha Grey surprises here with some actual depth and doesn’t come across as coy or over embellished). But the intimacy of the script and the low-budget production of The Girlfriend Experience is what really has drawn him back to the incredible ‘fly-on-the-wall’ intimacy and daring of his earlier work (namely sex, lies, and videotape and King of the Hill ).

The Girlfriend Experience , shot primarily with a handheld camera in only a few weeks, is absolutely rife with unabashed satire, timely societal concerns (the economic crisis is a major focal point throughout, make of that what you will), and a playful curiosity with the basic human condition (i.e., what makes us tick), that instantly declares it one of the best films to be released in a year that has so far been a ‘black pit’ for the state of grown-up cinema.

Warning: Don’t expect lots of nudity and gratuitous sex scenes people, you will not find it here.

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