Personal Shopper (B or 3/4 stars)
'Personal Shopper' (directed by Frenchman Olivier Assayas) is a supernatural thriller starring the very talented Kristen Stewart; who also impressed in the director's prior film, Clouds of Sils Maria, which starred Juliet Binoche. Stewart stars as Maureen Cartwright, an American in Paris paying her rent by working as a 'personal shopper' for Kyra (Nora von Waldstatten), an appallingly self-absorbed supermodel. But not only is she a personal shopper ... she's also a spiritual medium who shared her gift with her twin brother, Lewis; who recently died of a heart condition that she also has.
Seeing as they are twins who both share the 'gift', Maureen hopes that he can send her a sign from the after life. The only real contact she has with anyone in her life is her boyfriend (Ty Olwin), who works in Oman as a tech expert. That sole contact ends, however, when Maureen suddenly receives some unnerving texts from a mysterious 'unknown' person who knows her obsessions & forbidden diversions (like wearing the dresses & jewelry she collects for Kyra). Who is this texter? A prankster? A stalker? Or could it be a ghost from the great beyond? Could it be her brother?
Most of this mysterious, oddball, genre-blending thriller mesmerized me. It's thought-provoking. It's about the mysteries of life. Director Assayas gets another compelling, wonderfully-layered performance out of Kristen Stewart. At first I didn't buy her as a personal shopper, but she convinced me as it went. And then when you discover that she's IN Paris - doing this job for Kyra - BECAUSE she's chasing the ghost of her twin brother who died there ... I was fully convinced. And she is very believable as this sort of edgy, sullen woman who is internally twisted by this gift that she has.
Stewart is often onscreen alone with just her emotions bubbling up beneath her squirmy, fidgety facade. You can tell that the death of her brother + the insistence of this mysterious texter is REALLY getting to her and, I loved the tension that exists btwn. her calm, cool professional exterior & her more neurotic interior -- who knew texting could be so rivetingly conveyed onscreen!? I wasn't consistently engaged throughout this film. And the ending makes me scratch my head. That said, this film's portrait of a woman trying to cope with tragedy & grief - all while harboring supernatural talents - is entrancing and, may be cathartic for some viewers.
Seeing as they are twins who both share the 'gift', Maureen hopes that he can send her a sign from the after life. The only real contact she has with anyone in her life is her boyfriend (Ty Olwin), who works in Oman as a tech expert. That sole contact ends, however, when Maureen suddenly receives some unnerving texts from a mysterious 'unknown' person who knows her obsessions & forbidden diversions (like wearing the dresses & jewelry she collects for Kyra). Who is this texter? A prankster? A stalker? Or could it be a ghost from the great beyond? Could it be her brother?
Most of this mysterious, oddball, genre-blending thriller mesmerized me. It's thought-provoking. It's about the mysteries of life. Director Assayas gets another compelling, wonderfully-layered performance out of Kristen Stewart. At first I didn't buy her as a personal shopper, but she convinced me as it went. And then when you discover that she's IN Paris - doing this job for Kyra - BECAUSE she's chasing the ghost of her twin brother who died there ... I was fully convinced. And she is very believable as this sort of edgy, sullen woman who is internally twisted by this gift that she has.
Stewart is often onscreen alone with just her emotions bubbling up beneath her squirmy, fidgety facade. You can tell that the death of her brother + the insistence of this mysterious texter is REALLY getting to her and, I loved the tension that exists btwn. her calm, cool professional exterior & her more neurotic interior -- who knew texting could be so rivetingly conveyed onscreen!? I wasn't consistently engaged throughout this film. And the ending makes me scratch my head. That said, this film's portrait of a woman trying to cope with tragedy & grief - all while harboring supernatural talents - is entrancing and, may be cathartic for some viewers.