David O'ConnellTHE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE @ The Melbourne International Film Festival
July 31st 2009 05:00
In the vein of Full Frontal (2002) and Bubble (2005), director Steven Soderbergh’s experimental sidelines continue with The Girlfriend Experience, a slim, hastily assembled project shot digitally with a porn actress in the lead role.
Sasha Grey plays Chelsea, a pricey Manhattan escort in the pre-election months of 2008 whose clients, ranging from the clingy to dismissive, seem overly preoccupied with the Presidential race and general economic downturn. Sex seems merely an emotionless by-product of their time spent with Chelsea who they constantly offer financial advice to.
Transitioning between minute, observational scenes of Chelsea with established clients - often in a non-linear fashion - David Levien and Brian Koppelman’s screenplay slowly begins to pick up interest after a disorienting beginning. Juxtaposed fragments from the life of Chris (Chris Santos) begin to make sense; it turns out, he’s Chelsea’s boyfriend, and strangely approving of her lifestyle.
Over time their relationship begins to falter however. A potential new client provides a threat to their strange domestic arrangement. He’s of particular interest to Chelsea who senses a tangible connection, though her lack of reaction would belie any such conclusion. When she’s offered a weekend away, her connection to Chris begins to wane against the implications of her acceptance.
Grey, an experienced porn star, proves to be a crafty choice; her lack of expression and remoteness may be directly relatable to a glaring deficiency in acting ability, but it actually works in the film’s favour. It gives this clinical businesswoman a detached, cynical perspective, negating any outside forces bound to provoke an emotional response from most people.
The inexperienced Santos proves to a solid second-string, whilst the support players, in their transitory roles, fit neatly in the constantly shifting stream of Soderbergh’s narrative like meaningless pieces of a puzzle.
It may be a minor addition to Soderbergh's CV but it still has merit, and in visual terms at least, The Girlfriend Experience has a lot to recommend it. In fact it’s a very attractive piece of cinema considering its budget and DV source. Working, as per usual, under the pseudonym Peter Andrews, Soderbergh has shot the film in elegant cool tones complimented by crisp golden light splashed about by a variety of artificial light sources such as chandeliers and lamps.
As part of his adroit manipulation, Soderbergh also uses neat little tricks to offset the paper-thin narrative’s deficiencies, often systematically overlapping dialogue from contrasting scenes. Recurring moments from an ongoing interview Chelsea has with a journalist (Mark Jacobson) curious about her profession break up this concise 75 minute drama neatly. Strangely though, his questions and their tangential asides provide far more insight than the terse responses provided by his cool and impenetrable interviewee.
Sasha Grey plays Chelsea, a pricey Manhattan escort in the pre-election months of 2008 whose clients, ranging from the clingy to dismissive, seem overly preoccupied with the Presidential race and general economic downturn. Sex seems merely an emotionless by-product of their time spent with Chelsea who they constantly offer financial advice to.
Transitioning between minute, observational scenes of Chelsea with established clients - often in a non-linear fashion - David Levien and Brian Koppelman’s screenplay slowly begins to pick up interest after a disorienting beginning. Juxtaposed fragments from the life of Chris (Chris Santos) begin to make sense; it turns out, he’s Chelsea’s boyfriend, and strangely approving of her lifestyle.
Over time their relationship begins to falter however. A potential new client provides a threat to their strange domestic arrangement. He’s of particular interest to Chelsea who senses a tangible connection, though her lack of reaction would belie any such conclusion. When she’s offered a weekend away, her connection to Chris begins to wane against the implications of her acceptance.
Grey, an experienced porn star, proves to be a crafty choice; her lack of expression and remoteness may be directly relatable to a glaring deficiency in acting ability, but it actually works in the film’s favour. It gives this clinical businesswoman a detached, cynical perspective, negating any outside forces bound to provoke an emotional response from most people.
The inexperienced Santos proves to a solid second-string, whilst the support players, in their transitory roles, fit neatly in the constantly shifting stream of Soderbergh’s narrative like meaningless pieces of a puzzle.
Sasha Grey as Chelsea
It may be a minor addition to Soderbergh's CV but it still has merit, and in visual terms at least, The Girlfriend Experience has a lot to recommend it. In fact it’s a very attractive piece of cinema considering its budget and DV source. Working, as per usual, under the pseudonym Peter Andrews, Soderbergh has shot the film in elegant cool tones complimented by crisp golden light splashed about by a variety of artificial light sources such as chandeliers and lamps.
As part of his adroit manipulation, Soderbergh also uses neat little tricks to offset the paper-thin narrative’s deficiencies, often systematically overlapping dialogue from contrasting scenes. Recurring moments from an ongoing interview Chelsea has with a journalist (Mark Jacobson) curious about her profession break up this concise 75 minute drama neatly. Strangely though, his questions and their tangential asides provide far more insight than the terse responses provided by his cool and impenetrable interviewee.
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Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Look forward to the review of Che mate, I contemplated the 4 hour stretch but decided to concentrate on other things.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I enjoyed this, possibly more than Che. It lingered with me for days after. I was unfamiliar with Sasha Grey's hardcore work (and having now seen some of it, I'm not impressed either, but that's a bone of contention I have with modern porn, and another kettle of fish entirely). I loved the way he shot the movie (Soderbergh could work successfully just as a DOP if he wanted to). I have Kafka on DVD which I found online, one of the dozens of titles I have still yet to watch.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
I've never seen Kafka but Underneath and King of the Hill are two of my favourite earlier works of his.
If I had to choose just one I'd probably pick The Limey though, just a brilliant film.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
sex, lies, and videotape,
the limey,
]the underneath
kafka
I wouldn't mind getting the girlfriend experience too when it gets released on dvd, even if it's just for moving wallpaper ... lol
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
don't worry about oversights, i've got a few of those ...