Stephen Soderberghs’ latest directorial, made controversial by casting adult film star Sasha Grey as the lead. Sasha plays Chelsea, a high end escort in NYC working during late 2008, when the economic crisis had everyone in a tizzy. Being that sort of working girl in Manhatten, Chelsea has a lot of financial clients.
A ‘GFE’ offers more of a full services than a hooker, these ladies act more like companions (hence the gf label). More than just a hook up that knows when to hit the bricks, she’s a true actress. And who knew, but Sasha can act! She more or less listens to her clients and nods a lot, but there are a few times (when she’s smiling actually) that she really comes across as a great actress. It’s a strange thing to see really. Considering Sasha’s day job, she does act. And her Chelsea character is in a similar position. She pretends to care, to listen, to be a real friend that shows up for love and not because the John made an appointment and she’s going to be paid four figures after an hour or two.
The movie is done out of order, it follows three timelines. Chelsea being interviewed by a journalist, Chelsea at work, and Chelsea’s personal life. The presentation makes things flow a little rough to follow, you shoot from each time line and have to kinda place what Chelsea did and when. But the core of it is seeing this girl juggle this bizarre life. She can front to her clients with no problem, most of them just want someone to talk to. Sex is just a bonus, hell some of them don’t even consummate the “relationship”. Her personal life is obviously a much harder job for her to get “right”. She’s got a boyfriend and she makes some stupid choices that show her she really doesn’t have it figured out. She may have a recession proof job, but her personal life is anything but secure.
The movie was done for cheap and it’s a short movie. There’s nothing really there to linger on, you follow Chelsea for a few days and then it just kinda ends with her trucking on. The life of a high class escort is really a mystery for everyone and the intricacies of her job really isn’t explored here. That could have made the movie more interesting, but I guess her job really isn’t the focal point, just the ends to a means. I’m sure there are some documentaries out there that delves into that better than this movie ever could.
Interesting flick, it didn’t really blow my mind (tee hee!) but I think it’s worth a watch.