Review of The Girlfriend Experience (2009) by Jennifer S — 15 Dec 2009

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, The Girlfriend Experience is about a high-class escort named Christine who navigates the tricky waters of dealing with clients, some needy, some cruel, as well as her relationship with her boyfriend. I feel like I should see this movie again because there is a lot going on here. For one, the movie takes place right before the '08 elections, so there is a lot of discussion about the economy. Christine and her gym trainer boyfriend are a well-off couple, but are increasingly nervous about the economic downturn and are both looking to increase their income--the boyfriend (never caught his name) by getting a promotion at his job and Christine by impressing a rich (and sleazy) man who can write her a good review on his "erotic connoisseur" website. Both characters are selling themselves, but in different ways. Soderbergh handles the very obvious connections between prostitution, female worth, and other economic exchanges with subtlety and sensitivity.

The other interesting thing going on here is the character of Christine herself. Played by an actual porn actress, Sasha Grey, who looks like an especially beautiful Suicide Girl, Christine reveals frustratingly little emotion. But where other actresses might play Christine as a dumb, blank slate, Grey plays her as a woman with hidden depths who must be quiet and introverted in order to survive in her business (who wants to be with a chatty whore, after all? Call girls are there to listen, not to speak). Christine reveals herself to be a fanciful romantic who really is looking to connect with someone--but who remains thoughtful and interior about this impulse. She's a fascinating character who isn't exactly likable, but not pitiful either.

The Girlfriend Experience is a rather bleak film, showing that money really can't buy happiness. Christine and her boyfriend live in a beautiful apartment and live a top-notch lifestyle, but they clearly aren't happy. And then men who meet with Christine happily pay hundreds of dollars an hour to buy her dinner and sleep with her, but they REALLY aren't happy. Soderbergh does not judge Christine or her "clients", but he does make a pretty explicit statement--obvious from the title of the film--that only true human connection can make one happy and that money traps people in a gilded--and crushingly lonely--cage.