We all need somebody to make us feel alive again.
Some can say that being an escort is infinitely harder than a prostitute. An escort is a paid friend. Your trainer, your therapist. You must have something that keeps bringing them back. Cheating is not about sex. You think you’re here for the sex. It’s a cover up. The sex is a mask, a blanket for the freedom, the freedom to be yourself. Even in simple sex transactions, its the freedom to act out your fantasies. Fuck out whatever guilt, sadistic desire you have. Fuck out your anger, take out your frustrations on someone other than your wife. For a brief moment. You can pretend someone really cares.
Cheating is a beautifully selfish desire. More emotional than physical. A cry for help, a bandaid to help fill up what’s empty inside. It’s the feeling of being pursued again. It’s feeling beautiful, wanted. Again.
I used to be important. My wife used to dance under the stars with me. I hate my job. The economy is crumbling. I’m not sure I like my kids.
Pretend for 2 hours that I’m still in control of my life.
In The Girlfriend Experience by Steven Soderberg, we see Chelsea (Sasha Grey), a high end escort, going through the motions. She’s subtle. She’s never intrusive but she’s never cold. She plays to whatever these men want. It’s not ridiculous like other movies. She’s not baring whips or dressing up as a cowgirl. It’s simple yet in many ways so much more intricate and complex than simple donning a schoolgirl outfit. One of her clients have been seeing her for 2 years. 2 years. If she wasn’t being paid, this would have been called a real affair. They are paying her to be someone normal, a supportive girlfriend. A girl friend if you will. A supporting shoulder, something that their wives and children have long neglected at home. Someone they have dinner with and go to art galleries. Someone to make them feel alive again. Sex is just an extra.
There’s no do-overs in life. There’s no second chances. But with money, you can pay the price for a moment of What Ifs. No matter how fleeting.
The Girlfriend Experience is simple. It’s stark. It’s bleak. It’s not a Cinderella story. It’s not a feel good movie. There’s no rising from the ashes or a girl regretting her choices in life. There’s no life lesson to be learned here.
Chelsea: Sometimes clients think they want the real you, but at the end of the day, they say they don’t. They want what… they want what you want to be. They want you to be something else. They don’t want you to be yourself.
Interviewer: Suppose I’m that rare client that really wants to…
Chelsea: If they wanted you to be yourself, they wouldn’t be paying you.
