“The Girlfriend Experience,” an interesting and non-exploitationist look at the profession of escort, is still one of the master director Steven Soderbergh’s most underappreciated films. The 2009 movie’s Starz version has been even more successful in several aspects, especially during its fantastic premiere season starring Riley Keough. New characters have been added to “The Girlfriend Experience” in each season, and these people are only loosely related to the themes explored in the first movie. The most recent installment, which debuted on the premium cable network on May 2nd, explores how technological developments are making it possible to forecast behavior in individuals in ways that were previously only theoretical.
This year’s story, which was created by Anja Marquardt (“She’s Lost Control”) and executive produced by Soderbergh, may be its most ambitious yet, despite the fact that in the early episodes it occasionally gives in to pretentious filmmaking choices and overwriting, just before the show started to gain momentum and Starz decided to stop sending new episodes (so I can’t say how successfully it connects its many ideas). That being said, it never gets old, even if I’m not sure whether I will buy anything it’s selling.
As Iris, a neuroscience major employed by the powerful tech giant NGM, Julia Goldani Telles (“The Affair”) truly drives the season; I think she appears in every scene of the five episodes that were given to press. Iris and an interviewer for The V, an expensive escort service, meet in virtual reality to begin the season. The definition of connection is given from the outset in a different context—that is, as an interview between two individuals who aren’t physically in the same room. She wins the job thanks to her CV and confidence, but she still needs to pass the real customer exam that evening. Virtual connections are not acceptable.
After accepting the job, Iris immediately begins to try to keep her day life and night life apart. In the latter, she adopts the name Cassie. However, the lines between the two begin to blur (don’t they always?) when Iris discovers that the technology she’s developing at NGM may benefit from her experiences as a “girlfriend.” She tells herself that she is working to improve as a partner to her esteemed clients, but that she is also utilizing the knowledge she gains there—sometimes clandestinely—to progress her technology and get an advantage over her employer, the IT expert.
She is a user, but in a very particular, contemporary sense that lends the season a new lease of life. Over time, escorts discover details about their customers that the clients are unable to share with anyone else. What do these facts reveal about the character of people? And how would a tech business use that understanding to the next big development in artificial intelligence, or even predictive technology?
It feels like a lot for a drama that lasts 30 minutes, if that makes sense. When one takes a step back and looks at the big picture, this program works better on a macro level than on a micro one, where its antiseptic settings and frequently blank impact might come off as a little too manufactured. I’m not sure if it’s because the writing became more relaxed or if I just grew used to it, but early dialogue frequently emphasizes Marquardt’s ideas in an unnatural way. Too many of these characters, like Cassie and Iris, already seem like artificial intelligence assistants, expressing themes rather than forming unique personalities.
Furthermore, Marquardt’s overuse of a beautiful synth score—which frequently sounds like it belongs in the upscale spas Cassie’s clientele frequent—doesn’t help much.
It is hard to ignore the season’s overarching goal for “The Girlfriend Experience.” It’s probably not at all what conservative critics would have you believe it to be, since it frequently undermines rather than sensationalizes the ties between client and escort. Iris is a young lady who feels that because she has a unique perspective on people, her neuroscience study has given her an advantage in all facets of her life. She is able to read nonverbal clues that most of us miss, but even in the short half-season I’ve watched, she discovers that there will always be a gap between technology and people. And anyone who believes the bridge is simple to construct and cross is going to have a very unpleasant experience.
