Weekly Review -- Selling souls

The Girlfriend Experience (2009) -- I was looking forward to seeing this film for several reasons. First, the trailer displayed a very somber aesthetic, something that mainstream Hollywood does not utilize often. Second, I was intrigued by a new perspective of the oldest profession from the man who explored human character and desire in the brutally frank Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Finally, I was wondering about the stance that the film would take toward women who decide to enter this perilous world. Unfortunately, the film poses many questions and leaves the audience with few answers. Chelsea (Sasha Grey) is a high-end New York City escort, operating her own business while trying to expand it during the 2008 economic crisis. Her personal trainer boyfriend Chris (Chris Santos) is having financial troubles of his own, being unable to keep clients in the recession and looking for greener pastures himself. The story follows the couple as their emotions and vices traverse the mostly unsavory proceedings. The problem with The Girlfriend Experience is that it never finds its point of view. It wanders aimlessly around its realm without offering up arguments that support, justify or even attack the protagonist's choices. The film moves along in a vague, dispassionate tone, achieving the rare feat of being detached from itself. If ever there was a topic for discussion, it would be the underground world of the escort industry, and Steven Soderbergh squanders the chance he has to make a taboo debatable. Several interesting issues arise -- the central relationship and the principal character's motivation are among them -- but they are never explored within the decidedly unusual context. Grey, an adult film celebrity, lends a hint of poignancy to Chelsea, suggesting a well hidden truth behind the shrewd facade. She provides some earnest moments, making it difficult for the audience not to find a grain of sympathy for the character. The rest of the actors do well within the experimental framework, but are often drowned out by the style, which overwhelms the story. I loved the dark, subdued cinematography, which corresponds perfectly to the gloomy themes, but style does not a masterpiece make. In the end, The Girlfriend Experience is as vacuously pretentious as the life of its protagonist. It does not draw the viewer into its universe; rather, it leaves the audience stranded, searching for a meaning in a narrative that should never have been meaningless.

5/10