Bearing some similarities to Bubble, this is one of those low budget fragments of a movie that Soderbergh makes in between the glossier Hollywood fare. Lasting only 75 minutes, Girlfriend examines a few days in the life of high end prostitute, played by real-life porn star, Sasha Grey. There is no sex and barely any nudity. Instead we see Chelsea (Grey’s name in this film) meeting and talking to clients, and meeting with an assortment of journalists, webmasters and suchlike who might be able to raise her profile and money potential. We also follow her boyfriend, Chris (Chris Santos), who works as a personal trainer. Most of the stories are unexplained and cut short. Chris is going on a comp-ed trip to Vegas with some male friends and the camera occasionally cuts to the men on a private jet discussing women. Chris leaves a package for Chelsea, but we don’t know what it contains. At some point Chelsea contemplates leaving Chris and becoming more serious with a client she has never met. But it is all pretty aimless. The cinematography is superb, all angles, reflections and middle distance shots. Almost everything about this movie made me think of Van Sant, especially its fragmentary, non-linear narrative, and generally aimless character. Continue reading The Girlfriend Experience