Sasha Grey & Steven Soderbergh’s Shockingly Brilliant Film You’ve Never Heard Of

by

Back in 2006, I embarked on my acting journey within the adult film industry at the tender age of 18. Eager to carve out a niche for myself, I threw myself into the work wholeheartedly. To my surprise and delight, it didn’t take long before I was garnering numerous accolades for my performances in the adult film world. Fast forward to 2009, and renowned director Steven Soderbergh spotted me in a copy of Los Angeles magazine. He was intrigued enough to cast me in his movie about the 2008 financial crisis, titled “The Girlfriend Experience”.

As I delved into preparing for my role in “The Girlfriend Experience,” I was tasked with watching two films by the legendary French New Wave director, Jean-Luc Godard – “Pierrot le Fou” and “My Life to Live.” Intriguingly, these movies starred Anna Karina, a name that echoed in the annals of adult film industry when Grey first stepped into the limelight. Little did I know that this role would become a game-changer for me as an actor, and for Steven Soderbergh as a director. “The Girlfriend Experience” has since been hailed as one of the most profound on-screen portrayals of the global financial crisis, solidifying its place among cinema’s finest.

The film eventually sparked an outstanding TV series based on it, but despite its quality, it doesn’t fully replicate the extraordinary brilliance that Soderbergh and Grey demonstrate in cinema. In every detail of its production, from meticulously crafting Grey’s character to emphasizing the effects of the Great Recession, The Girlfriend Experience is a prime example of each element seamlessly working together to create something grander than the film itself – a larger-than-life masterpiece.

Preparing Sasha Grey for Her First Dramatic Movie

One key aspect that stands out about Grey as an actor is that she hadn’t starred in a theatrical film prior to The Girlfriend Experience. Her professional background had primarily been in pornography, and while she achieved success, there’s no denying that dramatic acting requires a distinct set of skills. This background undoubtedly influenced her character, Chelsea, who was a sex worker in the escort business. She was renowned for offering her clients more than just sex; they paid her to go on dates, shopping trips, to the movies… she provided the experience that gave the film its title.

e

Steven Soderbergh has a knack for working with individuals who aren’t professional actors. In an interview with IndieWire back in 2012, he shared, “I’ve been working since Traffic with real people who aren’t actors. I find them intriguing. However, you need to be cautious. You must tailor everything to suit their unique qualities and comfort zones. If you force them out of that, the outcome won’t be satisfactory.” For instance, Soderbergh cast Gina Carano in Haywire when she was primarily recognized for her fighting skills rather than acting. His film Bubble featured mostly non-actors, and even Soderbergh, who is not an actor himself, directed his film Schizopolis.

During her character preparation, Grey and Soderbergh consulted numerous real-life escorts to authentically portray aspects of their personalities and work lives within Chelsea’s character. Her performance is remarkably accurate, highlighting the paradox that while an escort may find job security amidst a sea of lonely men, the financial stability of the industry itself is uncertain, especially given the context of the 2008 economic crisis in the United States.

An Excellent Take on the Financial Crisis

The Girlfriend Experience goes beyond being merely a movie about prostitution. Although its tagline, ‘Watch It With Someone You’re Intimate With’, suggests a significant sexual angle, this aspect is secondary to the main narrative which explores the influence of the 2008 financial crisis. Set squarely in the heart of the crisis, the film, directed by Soderbergh, provides insight into how the crash impacted Chelsea’s clients and the kind of people with whom she conducted business.

In the movie, Chelsea’s co-star is a personal fitness instructor who frequently encounters financial difficulties. He persistently urges clients to schedule additional workouts due to his money struggles. The relationship between them subtly intertwines sex and finance, reality and payment, often leaving viewers questioning if there’s any distinction. According to Jonathan McCalmont on his Ruthless Culture blog:

How do connections maintain their strength amidst the encroachment of capitalistic individualism into our emotional domains, much like it has infiltrated other areas of our existence? Is the escalating divorce trend, the decline in marriage rates, and a surge in brief relationships anything beyond the aftermath of an emotional economic downturn?

In this film, money’s influence and its consequences are omnipresent, with Soderbergh skillfully pointing out political analogies. The Wall Street investors are on edge due to fear of impending financial collapse, unaware that in just a few months, Obama would intervene to save them. Instead of focusing on the titular “Girlfriend Experience”, the movie delves into the reality of being a sex worker in an era where every client appears to be teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Over time, these clients seem indistinguishable from sex workers themselves, exploited by the economy as if they were commodities for sale.

Where ‘The Girlfriend Experience’ Exists in Soderbergh’s Career

By the time Steven Soderbergh completed “The Girlfriend Experience”, his career was skyrocketing. However, this film appeared to steer him towards creating smaller digital movies. Instead of continuing with series like “Ocean’s 11” or massive productions such as “Che”, Soderbergh shifted focus to more artistically unique, standalone films including “The Informant!”, “Contagion”, “Haywire”, and “Side Effects”. This marked the climax of his exceptionally productive and diverse first 25 years in filmmaking. After this phase, he temporarily stepped away from feature filmmaking (even contemplating retirement), only to return with renewed energy, producing 10 films, three miniseries, and numerous other projects over the past eight years.

fundamentally speaking, The Girlfriend Experience showcases Steven Soderbergh’s exceptional skills as a director. He masterfully combines different genres, and manages to make the financial crisis, though not directly impacting the main character, feel omnipresent throughout the movie. Furthermore, he introduced Sasha Grey, whose acting was widely acclaimed and kick-started her career in dramatic roles. Since then, she has appeared in numerous narrative films, documentaries, and even hosted her own talk show, Grey Area. However, it’s generally agreed that she delivered her finest performance in The Girlfriend Experience.

Read More

2025-02-09 07:32