MovieChat Forums > Magic Mike (2012) Discussion > Steven Soderbergh's directing style

Steven Soderbergh's directing style


Has anyone noticed the similarity of Magic Mike and The Girlfriend Experience in terms of directing style and sound design? I'm pretty sure it's intentional on the director's part to infuse a sense of reality and spontaneity, a kind of naturalness, almost a casual sense of narrative. Everything feels slightly laid back, except for the most staged dancing routines, which were usually short, or cut short. The rest of the film had a weird pacing, and was very effected by the sound design which usually had a loud and cluttered background feel, much like real life in a big city.

Soderbergh has made a lot of films and his style is not always recognizable or similar, but Magic Mike and The Girlfriend Experience seemed identical in feel to me. I can't think of any other current director who has a style like this. Anyone else notice this?

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I noticed that Soderbergh does not use a lot of coverage, which can be a little irritating since most movies these days have tons of coverage. I kept wanting the camera to get closer.

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There are rarely any close ups in life, unless you're making out with someone, and even then, it's not full screen. It's intentional.

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