Review of Personal Shopper (2016) by Brett B — 20 Apr 2017

A haunting and ambiguity-laden paranormal thriller, PERSONAL SHOPPER strikes an occasionally brilliant, occasionally uneasy balance between horror and art-house fare. There's so much about the movie that is legitimately wonderful; the mood conjured up by director Assayas (via strong cinematography and effective sound design) is unimpeachable, recalling the subtle chills of things like THE INNOCENTS and THE CHANGELING, while also offering up a truly rich psychological portrait of an enormously complex young woman.

Kristen Stewart delivers a performance here that can only be described as her finest hour, and one of the finest turns of the year so far; she absolutely nails this role, imbuing her tightly-wound and adrift character with an effortless humanity, nuance, and sense of loss which makes her a very compelling figure to follow.

Where the movie falters slightly for me (and to be honest, I'm of two minds about this) is in the way it seems almost unwilling - or unable - to fully embrace its genre; there are a handful of moments that are certifiably chilling and spooky, and yet Assayas never goes all the way.

Despite the paranormal being depicted as a real thing in the story, he resists indulging the conventions. I genuinely believe that if the movie had 5 or 10% more genre "sauce," more oomph, I'd be absolutely raving about it right now instead of struggling with my feelings a bit.

It's so close to being a phenomenal supernatural yarn/character study. The film ends strong, though, on an unsettling and thought-provoking note that I'm sure will leave many cold, but which filled me with fascinating questions with which to wrestle.

It's more an intellectual exercise than a visceral one, so people hoping for lots of jolts and shocks may walk away disappointed. I can already tell this is a movie that's going to gnaw at me, and despite the ways in which I didn't find it conventionally satisfying, I'm very glad it left me with much on which to chew.