MovieChat Forums > The Girlfriend Experience (2016) Discussion > What was the point?

What was the point?

posted 9 years ago by marieann0
18 replies | jump to latest

Really, what was the point of the show?
To show us how awesome it is to be an escort?
Yeah sure she had some troubles with her school, family and internship but how much did she care?
She had a panic attack but when she got over it, she made 1 million over this
And she told us she really likes doing this
*beep* strangers for money
So is that a documentary of how to get rich by being an escort and how to make easy money and how to deal with the problems that come along?
And what about with all the plot holes?
What happened to the chick that introduced her to this job?
What happened to the guy that was stalking her?
Did she drop the inheritance?

[–] Pequod88 9 years ago

Clearly, the point was not to glamorize being an escort, even when one is at the high end of the business. The series avoids shallow glamorizing and avoids puritanical scolding. It was co-authored by a man and women who took turns directing episodes. I think the 30 minute length of each episode ensured that there was no fat on the narrative.

We see early on that Christine is confident and comfortable with her sexuality. She did not seek out entry into TGE, but was led to it by the experience and advice of her friend. This friend later robbed her after being abandoned by her sugar daddy. Not so awesome.

Jack was a rich obsessive, who got his revenge by sending the video to her work and family (imo). She did drop the inheritance. Christine is not the only character to explore the links between sex, success and power. The workplace arcs were quite revealing.

I found the series memorable and quite successful. Riley Keough gives a powerful performance, and is a young actor to watch. The best and most insightful review I have read is by Chuck Bowen on Slant:

http://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/review/the-girlfriend-experience-season-one

[–] MeganCraft 9 years ago

What plot hole are you asking about?

[–] Zz9pza 8 years ago

The hole about there being no plot. We found early on that she was not comfortable with her sexuality, she just didn't care, it was clear she was nearly emotionally bankrupt 10 minutes into episode one. She has no joy or passion for anything, a prime candidate for suicide.

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

[–] MeganCraft 8 years ago

The hole about there being no plot. We found early on that she was not comfortable with her sexuality, she just didn't care, it was clear she was nearly emotionally bankrupt 10 minutes into episode one. She has no joy or passion for anything, a prime candidate for suicide.

Hmmm, can you be more specific?

[–] chrispfurious 8 years ago

Just saw the episode at the resturant. Seem like she sent it.

[–] FinneganBear 9 years ago

Really, what was the point of the show?
To show us how awesome it is to be an escort?

Just the opposite. By the end she is going thru the motions to please creepy guys for money and seems to get no enjoyment from it. But it's the life she chose. It's telling that she met a similar escort who said the work was so easy that it was like going to an ATM, but that she was dissatisfied with that life and wanted to get out. That scene was not put in randomly. It suggests that this is what is in store for Christine.

She had a panic attack but when she got over it, she made 1 million over this
And she told us she really likes doing this
She faked the panic attack because she was desperate for attention. Yes, she liked the work and continued it even after receiving the million dollar settlement.

What happened to the chick that introduced her to this job?
She robbed Christine and disappeared. The photos anonymously delivered to Christine were most likely from her as a warning that she could expose Christine's secret life if prosecuted for robbery.

What happened to the guy that was stalking her?
He ruined her law career and her relationship with her family. Apparently that was enough to satisfy him.

Did she drop the inheritance?
She signed off on a deal to forfeit it in exchange for the family not revealing her life as an escort.

[–] agentalbert 9 years ago

What happened to the guy that was stalking her?
He ruined her law career and her relationship with her family. Apparently that was enough to satisfy him.

How is it we're supposed to know he did this? I still think she sent the e-mail herself as she wanted out of working at the law firm anyway once she was no longer working for the guy on the big case and couldn't leverage that and her knowing he was colluding with opposing counsel anymore. I think she knew it would create a situation she could exploit for financial gain and was willing to ruin her reputation with the people there and her family. Of course the writers have left it open to where they can decide whatever they want in the future if they decide to reveal how that message got sent at all.

[–] FinneganBear 9 years ago

That's certainly possible. On the other hand, she had no way of knowing she would win a settlement from them after ruining her own career, humiliating herself, and having her own family see what she was doing (although her mother thought that was a possibility). If we accept that scenario, then it is very coincidental that Jack, who was obsessed with her, was harassing her by phone, waiting for her in the parking lot and wanted to get even with her not only for dumping him but also for telling Anna about him, suddenly stopped harassing her at the same time she sent the email about herself to everyone.

To me, it seems less likely that she took a huge gamble that she could win a settlement by humiliating herself to her family and coworkers and that Jack had nothing to do with that but stopped harassing her at the same time. To me, it is more likely that this was done by Jack and he stopped harassing her at that time because he felt he had gotten even with her. I also thought it was telling that when she forgot her phone and went back for it at Jack's apartment, she found it tucked behind couch cushions, the face of the phone was lit up and on a page of texts with her sister. So apparently he had been going through her phone and may have even hidden it himself. That could explain how he had her work number and probably email addresses. Of course, it was left ambiguous but that's what i think is the most logical explanation.

[–] agentalbert 9 years ago

I think she took the gamble because she was going to leave the law firm regardless. Was that internship even a paid one? We aren't ever told, but I don't thinks he valued it much. Whatever it paid, it was somewhere between $0 and not enough for her. Jack certainly had the motivation to do what you suggest, but how would he have executed it? There was the brief moment he would have had access to her phone, but hacking her work e-mail is different. Any company IT department would be able to determine if the e-mail account was accessed internally (and likely from which computer) or externally.

I also think having Jack do it makes her a victim instead of the protagonist and that seems less likely to me from the standpoint of the writers. But its certainly left open enough that if they even had one scenario in mind when they wrote it, they could change it all.

[–] FinneganBear 9 years ago

I don't know if they ever said it was a paid internship or not. But they hired 10 interns and said only 2 would receive job offers. You could be right. Christine's mom thought she sent the email. Jack could have been a red herring. We'll never know. But I find it very strange that Jack was so desperate to get even with her then just disappeared after the email was sent.

[–] FinneganBear 9 years ago

This just occurred to me. She forfeited the half-million dollar inheritance in order to keep her life as an escort secret from family and coworkers. It doesn't follow that she would then send an email to those same people to expose her secret life. Yes, she ended up with more money from a settlement with Kirkland but she couldn't have known that would be the result. If she just wanted to quit her law career, get attention and get a lot of money, she had a sure thing by taking the inheritance.

[–] agentalbert 9 years ago

Maybe, but being publicly exposed as an escort with legal documents to make it official would open her up to possible prosecution. That wasn't the case with simply being exposed as having sex with her boss at the law firm. I always wondered how she could EVER prove her identity to claim the funds given they were left to a fake name that she wouldn't be able to provide any documentation for. She may have never gotten that money if the family wanted to keep it tied up and force her to sign affidavits confirming her illegal activity. When the guy first died and we found out he left it to her with just a fake name and her cell phone #, I thought to myself she would never see that money.

[–] FinneganBear 9 years ago

Just re-watched the episode and am more convinced than ever that Christine did not send the email. When David Tellis showed her the email, she began to cry. Of course that means nothing because we know how insincere she is and she could fake crying. But she left his office and immediately went to the ladies room where, in private, she viewed the email video on her phone. First, she scrolled through the email addressees to see who had received it. If she sent it herself there would have been no need to do that. I found that very telling. Then she wiped her eyes, again in private, because she was crying for no one else's benefit. But in typical Christine fashion, she came out of the ladies room already devising a plan to turn this to her advantage. I think the fact that she checked to see who received the video and cried in private, had previously forfeited a half million dollars to prevent those same people from learning her secret identity, as well as the fact that Jack was obsessed with getting revenge and disappeared after the video was sent all point to Christine not being the one who sent it.

[–] madsketcher 8 years ago

That's what I like about this show - it simply unfolds, and things land where they land, and we learned a lot about Christine through how she dealt with this surprise.

She's cunning, but she's not some diabolical two-dimensional villainess. The fact that her mother believed she sent it says a lot about Christine, but it doesn't mean she did. I felt that Jack's actions were right on target with his character. That was absolutely his last recourse on the matter, the slimy pickle-dick.

[–] Pequod88 8 years ago

"The fact that her mother believed she sent it says a lot about Christine..."

I'd say it says a lot about the mother. Watching the mother's face and body language in the "Home" episode reveals a judgemental woman lacking compassion. It seems all who are around her suffer from her disposition. The "good" daughter has learned to tap dance to Mama's tune, but is not a happy dancer.

[–] MeganCraft 8 years ago

Maybe, but being publicly exposed as an escort with legal documents to make it official would open her up to possible prosecution. That wasn't the case with simply being exposed as having sex with her boss at the law firm. I always wondered how she could EVER prove her identity to claim the funds given they were left to a fake name that she wouldn't be able to provide any documentation for. She may have never gotten that money if the family wanted to keep it tied up and force her to sign affidavits confirming her illegal activity. When the guy first died and we found out he left it to her with just a fake name and her cell phone #, I thought to myself she would never see that money.

I'm confident that the episode is written intentionally so it can been viewed both ways. She did sent it, or that someone else did it. The episode leans more in the direction that someone else sent the email, but I think it leans that way because its makes the episode (and series) easier to follow for those who are not paying close attention. For those are are watching more closely, they will find there the series is far more thought provoking than it appears on the surface.

Throughout the series, we never truly know what she is thinking. We are left to speculate about her and her motivates. Its not even clear if she self-aware enough to know what she truly wants. As an example, its never clear what is motivating her to become escort. Its easy to assume she does it for the money, but she never does anything outright states her goals and motivations. In the first episode, we she walk up to a guy she's never met and say "I want *beep* you". It gives us some insight that she likes having sex with strangers even when money does not change hands.

[–] psoexplorer 8 years ago

The show is very clear that the email was sent from her personal email, not her work email. Either Jack hacked her account or made a new "spoof" account and sent the video.

[–] ThePatrioteer 8 years ago

To bore us with a character with about as much dimension as a sheet of paper.