Review of Girlfriend Experience (2008) by Allen B — 22 Sep 2009

An interesting, though somewhat convoluted flick starring the beautiful and very elegant Sasha Grey. A shame about the being a porn star thing, though.

It's well shot and edited, but the choice to mess around with the structure is to the film's detriment. It just didn't work here, and wasn't very necessary. It barely even had a plot, really. It felt more like a weird day dream, or a dreamy look into the life of a high price escort. There's no need to screw around with the structure for something like that.

The acting is also a bit off. Sasha Grey isn't a real actress, and it's obvious. She's very nice to look at and convincing as an escort, but she's rather disconnected and emotionless throughout, especially in scenes that require her to emote in some way. Emote? Is that a word? Eh, whatever. It just isn't very interesting to watch. Compare her performance to that of the actor who plays her boyfriend; it's night and day. Still, the film manages to work somehow.

Also, for a film about sex, it sure does have very little of it. There are only implications and descriptive voice overs of the aftermath, but nothing is ever shown. Maybe at the end a bit, but not really. A weird choice.

Overall, an okay film, nothing special. Worth a watch, if it's your thing.