Soderbergh's "Experience" provocative but shallow

How far Soderbergh wants to go with this is unclear. Is he talking about moviemaking? He certainly takes a clear shot at the critical profession by having ex-Premiere film critic Glenn Kenny play a seedy Web site "erotic connoisseur" who persuades Chelsea into favoring him with a performance, then writes a devastating pan on his site.

The film was shot in New York in October as broadcast news reports of the presidential election and the beginning of the government bailout of banks fill the air. Certainly many of Chelsea's business clients offer comments on the market meltdown and advice to her about her own finances. So perhaps the metaphor here has less to do with filmmaking than with capitalism in general.

All characters are thinly sketched. The most intriguing relationship, between Chelsea and Chris, never gets explored with enough depth to shed light on how they compartmentalize sex so glibly. A downbeat ending suggests they really can't, that this too was an illusion that fooled young people who are barely in touch with their own inner lives.