The Story
Chelsea/Christine (Grey) tries to balance her relationship with her boyfriend (Santos) with her ambitions to grow her business as a high-priced call girl in Manhattan. She offers the full "girlfriend experience": she listens to her clients talk about themselves, eats with them at the restaurants of their choice, sees whatever movies they want to see and then has sex with them. She convinces herself that it's a mutually respectful business arrangement, and makes major life decisions based upon "compatible" birthdays.
In trying to shoot it documentary-style, Soderbergh makes The Girlfriend Experience look like a student film. In casting a recently-retired porn star (Grey), he centers the film around someone who is guarded and seemingly out of touch with her own emotions, as Chelsea would be, but who would need more acting experience, training and, perhaps, time away from her old business in order to show us what we really want to see: the dramatic falling-away of Chelsea's facade, revealing Christine. I was glad, though, that Soderbergh did not exploit Grey as he might have: aside from a brief flash of nudity we see only her acting. There is no porn here, soft-core or otherwise.
Why you should see it
In spite of the movie's flaws and limits, it is an interesting character study, and you'd like Grey to continue to make films whose titles you can say in mixed company.
Why you shouldn't see it
You're too young. Move on or I'll tell your parents!
--from my review at www.1man365movies.com
Chelsea/Christine (Grey) tries to balance her relationship with her boyfriend (Santos) with her ambitions to grow her business as a high-priced call girl in Manhattan. She offers the full "girlfriend experience": she listens to her clients talk about themselves, eats with them at the restaurants of their choice, sees whatever movies they want to see and then has sex with them. She convinces herself that it's a mutually respectful business arrangement, and makes major life decisions based upon "compatible" birthdays.
In trying to shoot it documentary-style, Soderbergh makes The Girlfriend Experience look like a student film. In casting a recently-retired porn star (Grey), he centers the film around someone who is guarded and seemingly out of touch with her own emotions, as Chelsea would be, but who would need more acting experience, training and, perhaps, time away from her old business in order to show us what we really want to see: the dramatic falling-away of Chelsea's facade, revealing Christine. I was glad, though, that Soderbergh did not exploit Grey as he might have: aside from a brief flash of nudity we see only her acting. There is no porn here, soft-core or otherwise.
Why you should see it
In spite of the movie's flaws and limits, it is an interesting character study, and you'd like Grey to continue to make films whose titles you can say in mixed company.
Why you shouldn't see it
You're too young. Move on or I'll tell your parents!
--from my review at www.1man365movies.com