Reviews
Bored out of my mind, flicking through Gazz’ movie files in his shared folder… I come across this file name... ‘The Girlfriend Experience’. Having been downloaded onto his laptop, you could be excused for assuming it would just be porn. However knowing Gazz slightly as I do, the odds for it being some 140 minute Ryan Reynolds Com-Rom-Com epic are just as good. Despite not holding quite as bright a torch for Reynolds as Gazz (his could takeover once the Sun retires), I quite like the guy. So I flick it on.
Sadly it’s not a Com-Rom-Com, it doesn’t even have Reynolds in it. What a jip! And it’s not porn either. The Girlfriend Experience tells the disjointed tale of Christine, basically a hooker, played by Sasha Grey. Christine classes herself as a high-class escort. Probably according to her website, she offers men the opportunity, for one night, to feel as though she is their girlfriend. This whole deal confuses me slightly. Admittedly she’s much more than a hooker, high-class or otherwise, she plays the whole game. It’s nice to have a girlfriend, especially an attractive, well-behaved one on your arm. But most of her clients seem to book her services for a night in a hotel room. These people clearly just want to pretend, if only for one night, for $1,000. It’s an invaluable service for men, to be loved, caressed, listened to, understood. This is what she offers, if she’s prepared to offer, and people are prepared to pay, what’s wrong with that?
But that moment, whenever it is, they hand over, or prepare the money in an envelope, knowing what it’s for. Or the moment they book their next appointment, surely that would just cancel out all the feelings of the night before right?
Although you may not have seen her in much before, Grey is not completely new to the film industry. Neither is she new to having sex for money. She’s an (seemingly ex) American hard-core porn actress (I know this because of her filmography, not for any other reason – my Mum reads this!).
At first, she seems a strange choice for an escort, or even a girlfriend (especially if you were to pay, you’d expect to get a good one). She’s extremely quiet, her lines only really coming with short, polite answers to questions. She claims she offers clients ‘whoever they want her to be’. If they all want her to be exactly the same person, and that person is a cold, non-responsive statue of a prostitute, then fair enough, but her clients seem just as uncomfortable talking to her as a member of the Catholic Church in a brothel, of nuns.
At first I thought her lack of emotion was part of the character, however I’ve since considered her role to be amended to better suit her acting ability. For example, the film has a very low budget, at times even student-film feel to it. Many scenes take place only in 2, or even 1 shot. Two of the main scenes in which she is forced to act, both happen in just the one shot, which means a long shot, so we don’t get to see her face very well or at all.
There are obvious overtones (and undertones) of the American political and economic situation. Taking place during the ObamaMcCain election, there’s a lot of opportunity for the Writers and Director to comment. This seems to be the main point they’re trying to make. Christine’s clients are all rich, mostly plying trade in the financial sector, and all are worried about losing money. And yet, they continue to spend money on her services. I know it’s saying something about the economy, about the government, about Iraq, or about the people involved… I’m just not sure what it is.
This is my problem with the whole film. I know there’s something going on. I know I should care, and want a resolution… I just don’t know what it is.
The Girlfriend Experience is on general release 4th December.
The Girlfriend Experience - Brought to you by James Wormald -