Movie Review The Girlfriend Experience

The Girlfriend Experience (2009) 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Brian Koppelman, David Levien 

Starring Sasha Grey, Chris Santos, Glenn Kenny 

Release Date May 22nd, 2009 

Published July 15th, 2009 

For some directors prolific means 2 films in 3 years. For Steven Soderbergh 2 films in one year is par for the course. In 2009 he knocked out The Girlfriend Experience and The Informant! in under 9 months time. Not merely prolific however is Mr. Soderbergh. Both films are absolutely brilliant.

Real life adult film star Sascha Grey stars in The Girlfriend Experience as Chelsea or is she Christine? She is a high class hooker who for a couple thousand dollars does not merely sleep with a client but gives them the experience of having a girlfriend, minus the inherent ups and downs.

Christine/Chelsea has a boyfriend, Chris (Chris Santos) who rather than living a lie with her is fully aware of what she does. He's not exactly cool with it but has accepted a life with some very unique boundaries. They talk like a normal couple, even bitching about their work lives.

Then Christine meets David (David Levien). He's a screenwriter but, more important to Christine/Chelsea, he has an astrological sign that lines up with hers. As they chat and talk turns to getting together they bond and Christine/Chelsea seems like she may be crossing the line between her business and her real life.

That is the linear plot that I drew out of the film. Director Soderbergh however keeps us off balance by mixing the timeline and not telling us he's doing it. No cards, no dates, just a few verbal clues here and there to let us know where and when we are in the story. The approach is hypnotic and engaging.

Sascha Grey is a fascinating actress who, with the freedom of Soderbergh's improv style, brings a real, flesh and blood freshness to a character that in the hands of a more trained actress might become a more noticeable performance. She has a hard one comfort on screen that comes from her unique background.

Soderbergh's use of Digital Photography is head and shoulders beyond any other director. Too often Digital becomes shaky and unwatchable. In other films it becomes a device that sticks out. With Soderbergh the camera melts away and you feel as if you are in the room having these experiences. A fly on the wall or as a ghost in the room.

The Girlfriend Experience is a revelation. Combined with the wildly different The Informant! it announces Soderbergh as arguably the auteur of this time. His work rate combined with his artistry is like nothing we've seen before.