Personal Shopper Review
By Rich Cline
After winning a series of major awards for her role in Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria (2014), Kristen Stewart reunites with the filmmaker for this offbeat movie, which intriguingly blends personal drama with ghostly horror. The resulting film may be rather difficult to pin down, but it's relentlessly fascinating, drawing the viewer in through clever visuals and Stewart's superbly internalised performance.
It's set in Paris, where Maureen (Stewart) is working as a stylist for an arrogant red carpet celebrity (Nora von Waldstatten). But Maureen is actually there because her twin brother recently died of a heart condition they shared. And since he was a believer in the spirit world, the sceptical Maureen hopes that he will give her a sign from the afterlife. So her job is just there to occupy her while she waits. And she's taken aback when a completely different spirit contacts her. She considers running off to join her boyfriend (Ty Olwin) in Oman, but as a witness to a horrible crime, she can't leave Paris. And the ensuing stress seems to open her up to further supernatural interaction.
Where this story goes is so clever that the audience often feels lost. Assayas is a filmmaker who doesn't like to make everything obvious, so we're left to understand the events on our own terms, and take from the movie whatever we find. In this sense, the film has a gorgeous tone, with fascinating visuals that add subtly inventive special effects to the emotional mystery. The central point here is that Maureen has never been completely honest about her feelings, only expressing herself through her fashion sensibilities. And maybe now it's time for her to pay some attention to herself. Both Assayas and Stewart do a terrific job conveying the honesty of her spiritual journey and the emptiness of the expensive clothes and jewellery that surround her.
Stewart's performance is likeable and revealing, offering powerful insights into her inner life, which is a bundle of insecurity and grief. The journey she takes through the film is utterly riveting, and by combining spectral horror with the fashion world, Assayas makes some witty comments on pop culture along the way. There's a powerful sense of yearning (for money, fame, honesty, clarity) running through all of the side characters. But the movie is so smart that it almost feels like an inside joke that we're not in on. So as Maureen begins to work out her own understanding of her life, we may feel like we are being left outside.
Facts and Figures
Year: 2016
Genre: Dramas
Run time: 105 mins
In Theaters: Friday 10th March 2017
Distributed by: CG Cinéma
Production compaines: ARTE France Cinéma, Sirena Film, Scope Pictures, Poisson Rouge Pictures, Detailfilm, CG Cinéma, Vortex Sutra
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5
IMDB: 6.6 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Olivier Assayas
Producer: Charles Gillibert
Screenwriter: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Kristen Stewart as Maureen, Lars Eidinger as Ingo, Sigrid Bouaziz as Lara, Anders Danielsen Lie as Erwin, Ty Olwin as Gary, Hammou Graïa as Police Officer, Nora von Waldstätten as Kyra, Benjamin Biolay as Victor Hugo, Audrey Bonnet as Cassandre, Pascal Rambert as Jérôme, Aurélia Petit as Chanel Press Attache, Dan Belhassen as Cardiologist, David Bowles as Jules Allix, Pamela Betsy Cooper as Eurostar Business Traveller, Leo Haidar as Kyra's Lawyer, Yun Lai as Chinese Guy, Abigail Millar as Eurostar passenger, Benoït Peverelli as Photographer, Khaled Rawahi as Oman Chaffeur, Fabrice Reeves as Actor (uncredited)
Also starring: Olivier Assayas