- THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2009 FILM MOVIE
- THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2009 FILM FULL
- THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2009 FILM PROFESSIONAL
She delivers her dialogue convincingly, is uncomfortably effective as the ice queen sheltering beneath a suit of armor, and even allows us to catch glimpses of something wounded, or longing, or lost.
Her work subverts the common belief that porn stars cannot act.
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2009 FILM PROFESSIONAL
Grey is the film's only professional actor, and this is her first major role in a mainstream production. The point seems to be that Christine lives in the present and that's how The Girlfriend Experience represents her life, without concern of how the "past" and "future" fit. Then again, since plot is not a primary characteristic, the fact we're being fed disconnected "moments" is of minimal import. Only in retrospect can the story be pieced together with a reasonable degree of coherence.
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2009 FILM MOVIE
For the better part of the first half, it's not obvious the movie is not progressing in a linear fashion but then clues make it apparent that Soderbergh is toying with the time line. The film is structured in an intentionally cryptic manner, scrambling the chronology like a jigsaw puzzle.
She gets well paid to provide comfort but, in the end, money is an icy bedfellow. She has become so adept at playing roles that the chameleon may no longer recognize its natural shade. It's arguable whether even she knows who she really is. Christine wears armor and doesn't show her true side to anyone, perhaps not even Chris. This is a cold movie, as befits the subject matter - love, sex, and companionship are all commodities that can be sold and bought. Chris is understanding and supportive of her profession until she takes things too far with one client and crosses a line that leaves him feeling betrayed. On her own time, she lives with a boyfriend named Chris (Chris Santos), who makes his living as a personal trainer. Her role is often that of a $24,000 therapist and she's a slightly different woman with each man. The sex is often secondary, and sometimes it doesn't happen at all. Those appointments often consist of dinners, nights at the movies, and lots of talk. Most of her regulars "date" her rather than merely having sex with her. Chelsea (Grey), is a high-priced escort who offers "the girlfriend experience" for anyone who can pay her $2000/hour price. The pre-election hype is heating up as the economy melts down. By design, this is one un-sexy motion picture.
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE 2009 FILM FULL
(The MPAA may feel compelled to call this "graphic nudity" since it is full frontal.) While there is frank sexual discourse, it's presented clinically. There is almost no nudity - the sole exception is a fast (1-2 second) shot of Grey padding au natural across the screen after getting out of bed. In fact, the titillation factor in The Girlfriend Experience is virtually nil.
Part character study and part snapshot of a specific time and place in American culture, The Girlfriend Experience marks the latest in a long line of atypical choices for Steven Soderbergh, who refuses to be pigeonholed, no matter how fastidiously his detractors and adherents attempt to pin him down.Īlthough Soderbergh's leading lady is the starlet who goes by the nom de porn of Sasha Grey, this is by no means an attempt by the director to go down the hardcore route traveled recently by respected British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom. The fascination with the film is that it offers an arm's-length opportunity to peer through a peephole into a lifestyle that will be exotic and alluring to most in the audience. Voyeurism is a favorite pursuit of Americans, and The Girlfriend Experience works in large part because it indulges that pastime.