Sex is one thing. Enjoying the company of a beautiful young lady at some of the finer Manhattan restaurants or waking up with her the next to her in a luxury hotel the morning after a perfect date is a whole other. Now you can pay for both of these different experiences at the same time in a package known as "The Girlfriend Experience." Steven Soderbergh's exploration of this experience is not only beautifully shot but it is also oddly just as removed as it is engaging. The same can probably be said about the experience itself.The recent works of Steven Soderburgh have left a lot to the imagination. The progressively less endearing and logical Ocean's Eleven series of films. Or the astonishingly pretentious Bubble and Che. Add the fact the the Girlfriend Experience was from the writing team behind Ocean's Thirteen and the remake of Walking Tall....well one seemingly had the recipe for disaster!

Except...

The Girlfriend Experience is nothing short of both a return to form for Mr. Soderbergh and a revelation as a film. And it is reminder that some director's may work best within the medium of a smaller personal film. The film is a ostensibly about an escort and the rogues gallery of lonely men who frequent her as a band-aid for their sadness. but, then Mr. Soderbergh pulls back to reveal an exploration of emotional, spiritual and financial loneliness. Using the backdrop of the impending elections of the 2008 election, the film is set in the high powered wealthy world of Wall Street in the Pre-bailout era. Where money and power flowed.

Sasha Grey plays high class escort Chelsie while juxtaposing that with her daily life as Christine Brown. Ms. Grey is an astonishing beauty, which the character cannily uses to gain power within her profession. It can easily be argued that she is the most sympathetic character within the film givne the depravity of the brokers, clients,money managers or parasitic boyfriends.

It has been well noted regarding Ms. Grey's other acting roles. I think that might somewhat inform her approach but has little else to do with anything. Her detached approach to the character is perfectly suited to the role. The audience, like the clints, is never supposed to full understand her. She is like a fragile china doll in her cool demeanor. The denouement with the timeshifted narrative is still a dagger to the heart. TGE is beautifully shot by the director himself. It is a fascinating gem of a film.