Archives for September 2009

Set over the course of one weekend in the posh restaurants, hotels and bars of Manhattan, The Girlfriend Experience explores the inner life of a young, high-price call girl as she tries to balance her fraught career path with her seemingly typical long-term relationship with a personal trainer. The action, so to speak, takes place in October 2008—with the financial industry in free-fall, Chelsea, the escort in question, spends less time between the sheets than she does listening to various affluent white guys completely freak out about the economy.

Directed with signature finesse by Steven Soderbergh, the film's kinetic, intimate style turns out to be an ideal frame for the performances of the non-professional actors who fill out the principal roles (as in his previous film Bubble). Surprisingly subtle adult film star Sasha Grey slips into the part of Chelsea with guarded ease, and real-life trainer Chris Santos is pitch-perfect as her live-in boyfriend, who's left devastated when he can't stop her from crossing the line with one of her clients.

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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.

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