5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
In the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, Chelsea is an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients: companionship and conversation -- "the girlfriend experience." Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control -- she feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend who accepts her lifestyle. But when you're in the business of meeting people, you never know who you're going to meet.
Starring: Sasha Grey, Chris Santos, Philip Eytan, Colby Trane, Peter ZizzoDrama | 100% |
Erotic | 44% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
“See it with someone you ****,” reads the tagline for Steven Soderbergh’s latest experiment in low-budget filmmaking, and the asterisks could stand for just about anything. Love? Hate? I’m betting on the infamous “F” word, but after the less-than-impressive audience turnout for The Good German, maybe Soderbergh is actually saying, “See it with someone, you turd.” Ambiguities aside, The Girlfriend Experience is another divisive entry in the director’s wildly varied filmography. Soderbergh clearly likes to mix it up, alternating big-budget, high-profile projects like the Ocean’s films with art-house explorations like Full Frontal and the decidedly minimalist Bubble. The Girlfriend Experience definitely falls into the latter category, but it’s been given more press than a small independent picture normally receives, due to the fact that it marks the mainstream movie debut of adult film star Sasha Grey, whose IMDB page lists acting credits in 176 productions, most of which have titles unfit to print here.
The Girlfriend Experience's visual experience, by way of a 1080p/VC-1 encoded transfer, is only problematic if you expect it to look more like Ocean's 11 than, say, Bubble. Using the high definition RedOne camera that he employed on his recent Che biopic, Soderbergh documents the life of his Manhattan call girl with cinematography that is somehow both stylized, in color toning and exposure, and naturalistic, employing mostly on-location and natural lighting. At times the film has qualities you'd normally associate with a poor transfer or an inept DP—underexposure, overexposure, crushed blacks, overheated whites— but it's consistently apparent that this transfer represents Soderbergh's every intention. If you can roll with the director's stylistic eccentricities, then The Girlfriend Experience actually looks quite nice. There are some unusually soft medium shots, but much of the film has an adequately resolved sense of clarity, especially in Sasha Grey's pouty close-ups. Color and contrast are all over the place—sometimes strong, sometimes desaturated, sometimes flat—and skin tones tend to go yellowish indoors as an effect of the white balance, but this is all part of S- bergh's master plan. The only choice I found odd was the overexposed and overly diffused look meant to approximate home video during the flight to Vegas scenes. It just seemed unnecessarily ugly. You probably won't put on The Girlfriend Experience to demo your home theater, but it's an excellent representation of what Soderbergh was trying to achieve visually.
Similarly, the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track isn't the kind of mix that immediately impresses with onomatopoeic (Whiz! Bang! Pow!) prowess or overly evident sound design. This is definitely a talky film, and thankfully the dialogue is represented clearly and faithfully in all but a few scenes, when the wired actors seem somewhat muffled. For the rest of the film, vocals are bright in the mix and accurately reflect environmental acoustics, showing a slight reverb in emptier, spacious places, and a flatter sound in rooms more densely populated with people and furniture. That said, for vast stretches of the film there's little to no activity in the rear channels. You'll hear some bar ambience, some city sounds, and the clatter of silverware in restaurants, but that's about it. Dynamic range is adequate for a film of this ilk, but don't expect rolling waves of subwoofer output. The only chance the track gets to really bump and grind is during the occasional piece of music.
Unrated Alternate Cut (1080p, 1:16:33)
Uh oh. I can tell your mind is reeling, your pulse racing. You're probably thinking that this cut
restores all the gratuitous sex and nudity that Soderbergh had to excise from the film to get an
R-rating. If you're thinking that you might get to see Sasha Grey put her ample, uh, talents to
good use, you're in for a cold shower. "Unrated" here just means that this cut wasn't put before
the MPAA for review. What can you expect then? There are one or two slightly extended scenes
and some switched up dialogue, but otherwise not much has changed. I fail to see how these
minor modifications justify an entirely new cut. The new material would be just as well suited in a
"deleted scenes" section.
Commentary by Steven Soderbergh and Sasha Grey
Soderbergh starts off by saying, "these things should be banned," meaning commentaries, but
the following track is brisk, informative, and engaging. The first half covers most elements of the
film itself—the "structured improvisation," the research with real escorts, the non-linear editing—
but the rest of the conversation turns into Soderbergh interviewing Grey about her career, her
life, and the difference between performing in "adult" films and acting in art-house cinema. Well
worth a listen for Soderbergh and Grey fans alike.
HDNet: A Look at The Girlfriend Experience (1080i, 4:37)
As you can tell from the brief running time, this is a short EPK-style promo, complete with talking
heads and clips from the film. Don't feel obligated to partake.
Also Available From Magnolia Home Entertainment (1080p, 7:03 total)
Includes trailers for Two Lovers, What Just Happened, and The Life Before
Her Eyes.
Unconventional and not nearly as sexed-up as some would've liked, The Girlfriend Experience continues Steven Soderbergh's trend of alternating big-budget extravaganzas with smaller, indie-minded dramas. I'm kind of on the fence with this one, but I definitely think it's a film worth watching, a continuation and expansion of some of the ideas and techniques Soderbergh implemented in Bubble. Rent first, I'd say, and purchase later if so inclined.
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