REVIEW: 'Girlfriend' stylish but cold
Steven Soderbergh is an enigma.
While many filmmakers vacillate to some degree between populist studio fare and the occasional artsy project, Soderbergh possesses a cinematic schizophrenia all his own.
The man who burst onto the scene and practically single-handedly invented the independent film with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" also made "Oceans Eleven" ... and "Twelve" ... and "Thirteen." The director who made "Erin Brockovich" and "Traffic" also made "Full Frontal" and "Che." Soderbergh is like a cinematic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, ping-ponging between what people want to see and what he is interested in showing them.
His latest film, "The Girlfriend Experience," falls in the latter category - visually stylish, provocative and sexy, yet bland, detached and emotionally cold.
Chelsea (adult film star Sasha Grey in her mainstream film debut) is a high-class call girl.
Chelsea doesn't offer sex alone, but the entire "girlfriend experience" - companionship and erudite conversation. Chelsea, who manages her own business, is constantly looking for ways to get ahead and secure her future in uncertain times.
Surprisingly, she has a devoted boyfriend (Chris Santos) who accepts her lifestyle. But no matter how open the relationship, jealousy is always waiting in the wings.
With an immediacy that is disconcerting, "The Girlfriend Experience" takes place just before the 2008 presidential election. Focused on wealth and the materialistic perks that wealth brings, it allegorically examines modern consumerism. The film is something approaching a humorless satire on capitalism, specifically capitalism in peril, and as such must be the first authentic filmic statement about the recession.
But while beautiful, the film and its female lead are cold and distant. With a cinéma vérité, documentarylike tone that invokes voyeurism at the expense of connection, "The Girlfriend Experience" is narratively unfulfilling.
Not that Soderbergh isn't in on it. He frequently obscures his star behind furniture or hides her deep in the shadows. He knows his audience is aware of his star's erotic résumé and no doubt expects to see sex. But he never gives it to them. This is a film about business. And relationships. And business relationships.
Fascinating in a way that may not be totally apparent, especially while the film is running, "The Girlfriend Experience" is Soderbergh asking questions about companionship and commerce in the modern era. Just don't think he's going to stick around long enough to deliver answers.
Free market. Free love. Which one matters when the sky is falling?
THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE
Cast: Sasha Grey, Chris Santos, Peter Zizzo, Glenn Kenny
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Theater: Kimball's
Rated: R (for sexual content, nudity and language)
Running time: 1 hour, 18 minutes
BRANDON'S GRADE: B
