Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh unveils the world's most elusive porn megastar, Sasha Grey, as his muse in this bold, sensual drama. THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE takes you deep inside the convoluted reality of high-end escorts - a business that provides men with the ultimate 'GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE'. The only catch? A $2,000 price tag.
Following TRAFFIC, the OCEANS 11 trilogy and CHE, Soderbergh adopts 21 year old Grey to tell the story of a highly sought after call girl, running her own business on her own terms, holding down her career and juggling her career with a fully supportive boyfriend.
In a world where prostitution is now ingrained in international culture, this timely film finally unpicks the reality of elite escorts - through the eyes of one of the most prolific, complex porn stars today, Sasha Grey.
"How to we ascribe value to certain things? And, in this case, why does kissing require an incredible surcharge in the sex industry? What is that about? That's the thing that (Girlfriend Experience) do that other prostitutes don't. You're not allowed to kiss. That's a whole different thing. Here, you're paying top dollar to be able to make-out, and I think that's interesting" Stephen Soderbergh (Director)
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"if you don't like to think and observe, then this isn't for you"
The Girlfriend Experience is another one of Steven Soderbergh's forays into low-budget DV film-making, is a cold and soulless movie about a cold and soulless young woman. Chelsea, played by porn star Sasha Gray. Set in New York City, Manhattan it follows the life of Chelsea a high class call girl. The film is told mostly through a flashback style and first person point of view. Chelsea tells us of her experiences with men, mostly rich and interestingly not all of her encounters are sexual.
Soderbergh has one of the finest and most creatively balanced careers in Hollywood (or worldwide contemporary cinema, for that matter), going from blockbusters ("Ocean's 11" and its sequels) to visual experiments, sometimes with curious results ("Solaris", "The Good German"), and at least once, disastrous (the abominable "Full Frontal"). If you are familiar with his films you have a good idea what to expect going into it. It's a "slice of life" style film, with just the barest outlines of a plot; even most of the dialog is probably improvised.
The title resonates on many levels for the characters we meet. We find Christine in the middle of trying her own experience at being a girlfriend with her year-and-a-half live-in boyfriend, Chris. We wonder, does he know about Christine's vocation, then we wonder does he care, then we wonder why doesn't he care...?
This film isn't for everyone, I don't expect it to be widely popular or a mainstream success, it's an indie film that is dialog driven. If you don't like to think and observe, then this isn't for you. Her role as a prostitute is merely a way to convey the messages about human desires and necessities. A fantastic look into a life that is rarely if ever seen.