And she does it all to achieve… what, exactly? Some kind of success, some kind of fame, some kind of control.Ĭhristine has a boyfriend who wants her companionship and who seems to be fine with the nature of her work. Grey is certainly convincing as a woman bored beyond belief by her customers and yet willing to perform whatever function-sexual, therapeutic, or (most importantly) maternal-they desire. She could be “the girl next door,” made up for a day at the mall, except that her jewelry and clothes are apparently quite expensive.) Chelsea’s world is all about sexy, glamorous surfaces – exteriors that distract from the ordinary, the hollow, and the corrupt – and Soderbergh’s cinematography demonstrates this exquisite colors and graceful lines that illustrate scenes of chilling lifelessness. (One of the film’s mysteries, for this viewer anyway, is Chelsea’s appeal. I’m not talking about the actress when I say that this may be Soderbergh’s most visually enchanting film.
And the movie becomes a harrowing character sketch for the damage that the relentless competition of capitalism can do to the spirit. But then we begin to catch glimpses of a damaged soul through cracks in that chilly facade. We watch her make ethical compromises until she seems to be a heartless opportunist. No, I can’t say I found it fun to watch a real porn star (Sasha Grey) dramatize an expensive call-girl’s tedious, humiliating, self-destructive work.īut I can say I found it, um, “revealing” to watch The Girlfriend Experience - Steven Soderbergh’s meditation on the soul-killing effects of capitalism gone wrong.Īs Christine, aka “Chelsea”, goes about her work, we observe her chameleonic behavior in a series of encounters and transactions with her male customers.
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