SummaryThe drama series based on Steven Soderbergh 2009 film of the same name follows law student Christine Reade (Riley Keough) as she becomes a call-girl who provides the "girlfriend experience" to her clients.
SummaryThe drama series based on Steven Soderbergh 2009 film of the same name follows law student Christine Reade (Riley Keough) as she becomes a call-girl who provides the "girlfriend experience" to her clients.
It’s heady and cerebral stuff, a little mystifying and elusive too (this is a show you have to pay strict attention to), but it’s rewarding and super intriguing too (at least so far, with the two episodes given to press for the SXSW Film Festival).
After such a small sample size (just two episodes out of 10), plenty of questions remain, many of which feel purposeful. ... Season 3 is meticulous in its construction, and the extra outdoor scenes or limited physical contact [due to COVID-friendly shooting requirements] aren’t distractions. They add to the story Marquardt is telling. ... In Season 3, Iris seems to be looking for more, and for now, I think audiences can expect more in return.
After a four long years of waiting, it is safe to say that The Girlfriend Experience found its intimate touch (or a True Detective-like comeback) that everyone wanted since Season 1. This is the first time that Amy Seimetz's and Lodge Kerrigan's involvement are nowhere to be found in this season, and somehow foreign director, Anja Marquardt, rocked the house out of season three. The technical presentation behind this season is gorgeous based on use of cinematography, lighting, and color palette that this season went for when it comes to technology and I loved it. Julia Goldani Telles' portrayal as the wise Scientist, Iris, is an eyecatcher you cannot miss as she performs something similar to what Riley Keough has done to her character since season one and she's chillingly good. It may be a questioning season for some due to overreliance of tech trends and a familiarisque narrative to Mr. Robot, but the didactic message that lies in this season really says something as cryptocurrency, virtual sex, and artificial intelligence is shaping up the future of tomorrow and it's mad deep. And much props to the cast and crew that filmed this season during the pandemic using COVID-19 safety precautionary filming tactics and I sincerely hope that STARZ renews this for season 4.
The Girlfriend Experience is an efficient and confident affair, with little excess fat found on any of its half-hour episodes. ... As Iris, Telles strikes an unnerving balance between formidable intellectual and conniving predator. ... Like the show itself, there are layers to Iris that are difficult to pin down, but fascinating to ponder.
The Girlfriend Experience season three may a bit too moody or rely too heavily on tech talk, or just not feature enough sex, for viewers (let alone fans of the show). But what this particular narrative does do well is show Iris’ use of each encounter to carefully study human emotion in a way that’s not been seen before.
This season of The Girlfriend Experience contains some promising ideas, even though it retreads some familiar ground and the gendered implications of Iris’ double life go largely unacknowledged.
This year’s story may be its most ambitious, even if it sometimes succumbs to overwriting and pretentious filmmaking choices in early episodes just before building up steam at the point Starz decided to stop sending episodes (so I can’t say how successfully it connects its many ideas). Having said that, it’s never boring, even if I’m not sure yet if I buy all of what it’s selling.
Pretentious techno-bore starts out well enough but the final four or five episodes are just static mood pieces with incomprehensible techie dialogue. No amount of fancy lighting or camera angles can save it and it's certainly not in the spirit of seasons 1 and 2. I expected character-driven drama, not "data points."