Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There are a lot of documentaries out there about the world’s oldest profession. More often than not, these documentaries build the same narrative — a down-on-her-luck woman is all but forced to sell her body and deal with the moral and psychological implications of this decision, and the doc delves into the morality and pressures of the industry. There are many variations of this story, but the message is often the same: prostitution is bad. Escorts doesn’t agree with or oppose that sentiment. Rather, it shows the day-to-day lives of two call girls, asking viewers to make their own decisions.
Escorts, which first premiered on the BBC’s Channel 4 as High Class Call Girls, follows Cookie Jane and Emily B., two high-end call girls who operate almost exclusively using the internet. The documentary could serve as an interesting look into how the online world has changed the sex industry or how two privately educated women came to be prostitutes. But Escorts doesn’t do that. Rather, the documentary dives into these women’s day-to-day lives, uncovering their work and personal anxieties, their sources of happiness, and their flaws. It’s a look into two people’s lives that almost feels ugly in how uncomfortably intimate it is.
Filmed almost exclusively in the women’s Mayfair flat in London, Escorts has a trapped quality to it other documentaries lack. There are moments when either Cookie Jane or Emily B. are taking a client, and the audio, filled with moans and odd sounds, bleeds into the background. It’s inescapable, mirroring how this profession defines these women. That being said, the documentary’s filming is far from blameless. Escorts crosses into exploitative territory on more than one occasion, often featuring interviews or scenes where Emily B. is topless or both women are barely clothed. This is a far departure from other documentaries about sex work, like Rashida Jones’ Hot Girls Wanted, which portrays its subjects as people first and sex workers second. Likewise, there’s a gross film over many of the interviews. Escorts’ subjects are often shot from vulnerable angles reminiscent of a porno, in bed, or — most jarringly — in the shower and bath. Moments like these discredit the point of the doc, drawing a fuzzy line between educational and sensational. And, to be frank, they just feel gross.
However, for Escorts many faults, there is a candidness to the film that is remarkable, as noted by The Telegraph‘s review of the doc. Cookie Jane and Emily B. certainly don’t speak for every sex worker out there, but they speak for themselves — a lot. Over and over, they both talk about how much they enjoy their job, particularly how they get paid so much for such a small time commitment. At one point, Emily B. explains that she’s smarter than her private school friends because she’s found a way to make a shocking amount of money just using her body. According to an article from The Daily Mail, the women both shared in an interview that they can make over £10K pounds a night. However, there’s an underlying sadness to many of the interviews, especially when Cookie Jane and Emily are discussing their families or Cookie Jane is talking about her deceased ex.
Since the film’s premiere, both women have left the industry. If the idea of an aggressively intimate documentary about sex work is appealing to you, Escorts is now on Netflix. But be warned; the documentary has several problematic moments and many NSFW scenes. If you’re willing to look past those, Escorts is an often sad, often shocking, but its non-judgmental and intimate tone make it an interesting watch.
