<p>Set over the course of one weekend in the posh restaurants, hotels and bars of Manhattan, <em>The Girlfriend Experience</em> explores the inner life of a young, high-price call girl as she tries to balance her fraught career path with her seemingly typical long-term relationship with a personal trainer. The action, so to speak, takes place in October 2008âwith the financial industry in free-fall, Chelsea, the escort in question, spends less time between the sheets than she does listening to various affluent white guys completely freak out about the economy.</p><p></p>Directed with signature finesse by Steven Soderbergh, the film's kinetic, intimate style turns out to be an ideal frame for the performances of the non-professional actors who fill out the principal roles (as in his previous film <em>Bubble</em>). Surprisingly subtle adult film star Sasha Grey slips into the part of Chelsea with guarded ease, and real-life trainer Chris Santos is pitch-perfect as her live-in boyfriend, who's left devastated when he can't stop her from crossing the line with one of her clients. Soderbergh and Grey spoke about the film after its premiere at the <a href="http://gothamist.com/2009/04/30/soderbergh_sasha_grey_explain_the_g.php">Tribeca Film Festival last month</a>; it opens in New York today.