In the context of prostitution, a 'girlfriend experience' signifies an interaction involving not just sex, but dinner, conversation, and other activities replicating a real emotional relationship. Steven Soderbergh's raw, fast, fiercely up-to-theminute film – a second foray into low-budget digital experimentation after the intriguing Bubble (2005) – tracks a few days in the life of a purveyor of such services. The lead role is played by the celebrated adult performer Sasha Grey. Not only is Grey a graceful, soignée creature whom one could quite readily take home to Mother (provided she didn't talk too much about her day at work); she has also fostered the image of an intellectual. She declares herself a devotee of Antonioni and Von Trier, and upon her entry into the porn industry contemplated using the professional name Anna Karina in tribute to Godard's one-time muse. The Girlfriend Experience deploys prostitution as a microcosm of capitalist economy. In truth, the hot tagline for Soderbergh's film – "See it with someone you ****" – is misleading: with the recession as its backdrop, this film concerns itself much more with economics than erotica.