The Girlfriend Experience ultimately turns out to be a rather cold one - perhaps reflecting the simulated commercial arrangement at its core.

But there's something curiously engaging about adult star Sasha Grey, in her mainstream debut, despite the flatness of this performance.

Set in the lead-up to the 2008 US presidential election, Soderbergh's low-budget ``time capsule from the not-too-distant past'' takes place over just five days.

Chelsea (Grey) is a high class Manhattan call girl who offers much more than the customary brief encounter. For the right price, she will create the illusion of a full-blown relationship - the girlfriend experience of the title.

An astute businesswoman, Chelsea is keen to achieve growth in a down market. To this end, she visits a sleazy erotic "connoisseur' (respected Brooklyn journalist Glenn Kenny) who runs an influential website.

When he gives her good reason to regret this decision, she proves vulnerable to the overtures of a new client from out of town.