The Girlfriend Experience

Like many people I watched this because I was curious if a hardcore porn actress could actually translate to a non-porn movie. I had also read some of the reviews of this movie when it came out, and descriptions of its unique, stylized presentation had me intrigued. And I had read a few interviews with Sasha Grey; the discussions with her left me slightly captivated. So, last night, we put on a Disney for the kids in their room, locked them in, and put this on, fully expecting some provocative, salacious fare. About five minutes into the film I realized that expectation was probably not going to be fulfilled.Instead, I realized that this film was something entirely different. Indeed, it is a stylized masterpiece. The subdued lighting, esoteric conversations, eclectic musical selections, contrasting New York City venues, and Sasha's monotonal descriptions of her dates collectively left me fully mesmerized. Normally, "stylized" means lack of substance. But, here, we have something entirely new. Strange and beautiful lighting, weird camera angles, exotic locales, rarified people either deeply troubled or extremely accomplished....together all these inputs create an intoxicating glimpse into this young escort's world. There is a scene which has a street drummer's ecstatically hypnotic music as backdrop, and all night long I've had that rhythm pounding away in my head. But most scenes are dreamy subdued. In fact, one pervasive sighting is Sasha eating at restaurants. She is stuffing food into her mouth with highly elevated manners and petite bearing, while engaging in intense and intelligent conversation. She has her own issues when she is not helping others' with theirs. She is genuine and decent, smart and motivated. I just dig this woman.This movie is sophisticated and important. I am confident that within a decade this will be recognized as a stone cinematic classic. Yes, people who come to this with a fixed expectation of seeing lots of t&a will be disappointed. It is really only PG-13 in that regard. But, the dialogue here is amazingly realistic and intelligent. How Soderbergh was able to get such natural, fluid, elaborate--and interesting--dialogue out of these people is just beyond me. I was simply captivated by the conversations. The ruined economy is a big point in these discussions--many of the clients are Wall Street types--and I think Soderbergh has done a brilliant job of capturing a certain perspective about this period of economic malaise in our national history.The "girlfriend" Sasha portrays is fascinating. The fact that she is a girlfriend to several different men--amazingly--does not detract from a palpable sincerity she brings to the table in each encounter. She listens to her clients intently. Her face reflects her reactions to each word they utter. She thinks for an extended period before she responds, and she gives earnest, thoughtful, meaningful advice. She is no one's fool, and although she is an escort, she brings legitimate empathy and support to her clients. As one prospective client says to her: "I was thinking of a psychiatrist or you, but you seem like you would be a lot more fun." She laughs at that, because she understands.Sasha's escort is interested in upgrading. She solicits advice from web-site people, and other advisors in the adult-services industry. She wants to upgrade her reputation so she can increase her prices. She is a connoisseur of fine lingerie and the other accoutrements of the bedroom, and she documents what she has worn on each encounter. My wife did not fully appreciate it when I mentioned that I thought many women could learn a lot from Sasha's character, but I think she agreed. Listening, empathy, lingerie. The Feminine Power Trinity, perfectly exemplified here by Sasha.I came away from this movie with great affection for Sasha's character, and respect for Sasha Grey. No, I haven't seen any of her hardcore fare, but I'm going to remedy that as soon as possible. If I were a film-maker I would definitely be looking at Sasha Grey, she is in the Natasha Kinski mold, but perhaps even a little more nuanced and exotic. And Soderbergh is obviously going to have to fill the void left in my life from Kubrick's departure. I just love the visions of the world that this man portrays.

Since my first live-in gf of 40 years ago was a stripper+ a little bit Sasha-like before we hooked up, I brought a birds-of-a-feather attitude to this viewing. I expected either intelligent porn or a little bit of something salacious, and instead found a really creative and interesting experience in this exploration of a girl who gives you (for minutes, hours or overnight) the re-experiencing of the GFE. You see a beautiful woman and you want to love her for an hour or a weekend. And it's mostly dialogue. This is SO unique and welcome when it's done right, and except for left-wing election/economy it's very intelligent. Whether it's the jeweler who climaxes within a hug, the self-absorbed whiner going on about his age-and-money worries dropping his shorts and agreeing in a loud voice how important two-way communication is between people after monologuing for the whole scene; or a John who is truly infatuated with her and often talks and doesn't have to have sex with her, you become part of this world as Sasha is able to listen and twist some strands of his hair, communicating "I'd like to think so" as he says he finds their relationship special. And within that world it works so perfectly, for she really IS what they want her to be for that "time." Perhaps it's something within many men along the lines of King Solomon's 200 wives and 800 concubines that we desire a woman to love for an hour, a day a weekend. The emotional demands and sacrifices necessary for the "committed relationship" appear to be both alive and suddenly non-existent for Sasha, the Escort, but then Soderberg and Sasha bring the point home at the end like shrapnel flying together in reverse to become the whole bomb. The fact that the linchpin of the couple's undoing is something as neurotically hyper-personal as some kind of astrological nonsense is so perfect a counterpoint to the sophisticated clothing, lingerie and lifestyle enjoyed. She doesn't see where she really is in life, and decides her bf's refusal to allow what amounts trangely enough , to be a type of "adultery" within their 'rules,' she merely says 'he's not supporting her." Her girlfriend who she bounces things off mentions the "boundaries" of the John-relationship within that "special moment" experienced with someone new. The boyfriend nails what is going on perfectly (How's that for unusual in today's 'man-is-always-stupid' crowd?), but Sasha insists she has to "find out for herself," tells the bf he's selfish; only to experience the truth, but then - i was a lil lost here- she travels back to the guy who stood her up for his sudden emotional commitment to his family - and he's still there (???) and she does what the "reporter" is alwasy asking her to do: Be "real." So she pours out her agony over this really terrible message-board person.Surprisingly, he listens sympathetically, suggesting a walk. So when she "showed a crack of her real-self" she was at first "screwed," and ruins her "real" love-life, but then there's some kind of hint of (at least) survival at the end of that. Altho the point made is pretty obvious: Normally, you do not pay a girl $2,000 to hear her whine or cry.I think there's a great artistic statement in the lack of the salacious as Sasha occasionally simply becomes a girl in her bra and panties. Not a sex goddess leaving you breathless with provocative poses and sexy come-ons, just a person who's there to be your girlfriend.It is a RARE for me that I watch a movie twice in 24 hours, but I succumbed to another viewing quickly (the uncut version off the SPecial Section of the DVD (non Blue-Ray).What made it even more impressive in its impact on me was I was able to filter out the left-wing chant over the economy. I'm a very committed anti-communist, and to hear the constant theme of "how terrible the economy is" was very grating as Soderbergh repeatedly gave these Monica Lewinskies to Obama for the coming election. I usually stop the movie when the "Sieg Heils" of the Left become too intrusive. Read my Invictus review and see. But Sasha and Soderberg won me over completely.