Review of The Girlfriend Experience (2009) by Shajeev W — 09 Aug 2010

You can see what Soderbergh was trying to achieve here, but this flat, emotionless offering fails to provoke any strong sentiment one way or the other.

It's difficult to see what all the fuss was about Sasha Grey's performance: she is, in the main, one-dimensional and tepid throughout the entire movie. The experimental improv script probably didn't help either; or perhaps it was just a case of an actress more familiar with expressing herself physically being unable to commit to the moment when required to do so with more than just her body. Given her reputation for being a no-holds-barred wildcat in her day-job as a gonzo porn star, Grey's dispassionate showing in The GFE is quite a disappointment. Especially given she is the main draw.

Gangly and disjointed, this is one of Soderbergh's lesser outings and probably best avoided, except - if at all - for the killer soundtrack, and one rather amazing live drum solo in particular.