The Girlfriend Experience

If you've been schooled in the films of Jean-Luc Godard you will see the influence of films like Sauve qui peut (la vie) or 2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle in The Girlfriend Experience. There are other influences to be sure, even including Soderbergh's influence as he also functions as the film's editor and cinematographer under different names.
The Girlfriend Experience examines prostitution from the viewpoint of economics so you're as likely to hear Wall Street types discussing investment strategies as you're as unlikely to see the star and object of the film Sasha Grey disrobed. At different times TGE feels like Soderbergh is going for IOUSA and Sex, Lies and Videotape with neither format winning control of the film's spine. Technically the film is raw in terms of its acting. The photography seems direct with unfiltered light (like in a scene set inside a private jet flying to Las Vegas). The soundtrack is overwhelmingly good dishing up cool instrumental tunes that propel the non-action.
Soderbergh cleverly switches back and forth in time through the non-linear narrative so while we know that some sort of argument has occurred between Grey and her boyfriend the actual exchange is only seen near the end of the film. Between their interaction in a cozy Gotham apartment we track Grey as she meets with a variety of clients or business advisors. "Invest in gold" is one mantra that pops up more than once.
The emphasis rests on the setting and mood of the characters. The time is right before the 2008 Presidential election. Whoever appears on screen with Grey seems more concerned with discussing stimulus packages than engaging in her escort services. As a result TGE unwinds more like an account of an affair that happened last summer. Memories and feelings are brought to the surface, sometimes comically, only to boil away to the hard economic reality of life.
While the rest of cinema seems to be eating and regurgitating itself with countless rewoven origin tales The Girlfriend Experience feels fresh. This is a film more concerned with breaking molds than feeding old habits.

Every Little Step

A bare bones documentary look at the audition process Every Little Step waltzes into the River Oaks theater. The play A Chorus Line while familiar to fans of Broadway and students of musical drama may be less well known to the public at large. By concentrating on the, sometimes excruciating, elimination procedure known as the audition the filmmakers make the audience realize the rigors professional thespians go through to land a role.
Every Little Step occurs on the occasion of the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line. The original play ran from July 1975 trough August of 1990 and there was a movie version in the mid-80s. The revival, proving that all things lose luster with age, ran for about two years starting in 2006.
The film is bracketed with audio clips of the play's director/choreographer Michael Bennett speaking about the creation of the play. Seen only as a disembodied voice on a reel to reel tape Bennett talks about birthing the play from scratch. Bennett himself aslo helmed the Broadway hit Dreamgirls and died in 1987.
Essentially the show consists of a line of people, actors and dancers themselves engaged in an audition, talking about their lives, their fears, their hopes. The song "What I Did For Love" is a show stopper but was never what could be considered a big hit.
But the songs are never heard in their entirety nor are monologues from the play given a full airing. The point of Every Little Step lies in its depiction of the waiting around the audition room and that moment when the solo performer gives their all on a bare stage to a small group of people sitting in the dark in the middle of the theater. It is here that the heartbreak of not being the right physical type or the joy of having the perfect pitch for a song becomes apparent. We never really get to know the people who are actually auditioning, not in the sense of any emotional bond. But like life itself the point of Every Little Step seems to be the road that leads to the show and not the show itself. Every Little Step should be required viewing for anyone engaged in the theatrical profession. Fans of documentaries in general will find it concise but not essential.