The Girlfriend Experience- Boundaries

Before I sod off, I have had this on paper for a week! Been either forgetting about it or just avoiding it. Last Thursday night I watched this episode of the The Girlfriend Experience: Christine’s Story, and the next day at work, during breaks, threw together my thoughts in a write-up-of-sorts. Besides what is written below, there was a mention of Christine’s potential inheritance from a john (very wealthy and older client that she genuinely seemed to enjoy the company of…) who died, and the family contesting her right to receive it. But that was more or less a subplot-in-passing.

I was thinking to myself about how Christine’s life is, questioning just how anyone could juggle with being an escort-in-demand, attending school to work in the field of law, and serving as an intern at a major city law firm for a high power attorney; it all seems as if at some point something’s gotta give.

A steady stream of johns entering and leaving her life, with the occasional obsessive (example in this episode being Jake, a very rich, successful client already with a fixed focus on her, buying her a nice place and questioning a conversation she has with some random chatting her up at a pool) wanting to know her intimately outside the particular boundaries that exist within the girlfriend experience. But Christine isn’t ready or willing to give over her complete profile to somebody like Jake, seemingly disingenuous when it comes to how much she likes his company. Jake’s a paycheck and provides her with some sex she seems to enjoy, but romancing and sharing deeper details isn’t on the agenda. When asked her real name, for example, or about an older john that is another client (when Jake encounters her with him in a restaurant in the city), Christine gives him the faux Annabel and won’t reveal/discuss details about others she’s involved with.

When Jake goes too far, spying on her phone when it is accidentally left behind, getting her number, calling her outside their arrangement, invading her space, Christine/Chelsea cuts him off. Some boundaries you will not cross with her. It does indicate to us that her alter ego is very good at securing the interests/pleasure of those she serves within the guidelines of the girlfriend experience. She’s put a lot of effort in cultivating this “side job” which seems to be intruding more and more on her life.

But to extend yourself as far as Christine does with her civilian life and moonlighting (and very financially rewarding) escort service…eventually one of the other takes precedence.

Christine does, fascinatingly, insert herself into the dynamic of the law office politics of a significant client by not just fading into the background and remaining just an intern, moved away from attorney David Tellis after having sex with him in his apartment away from married existence (his office away from the office, David informs her). She’s ballsy, walking into rival Erin’s office and mentioning she’d be very interested in working with her for the client “taken” from David, in an attempt to gain back access removed from her. She’s not content, it seems, with being just the intern “gaining experience” while attending college. She wants in the mix, involved. And her receipt of her experience with David (he tries to brush off her congratulations for his promotion inside the firm) is a recording from an unknown source that could very well harm them both if it surfaces before the wrong eyes. David can seem chill but worry and concern have to exist, considering he received that recording, too.