Review of Personal Shopper (2016) by Matt C — 19 Mar 2017

There aren't many movies where I'd say that seeing it alone would enhance the experience, but seeing Personal Shopper alone on a Sunday night at 9:50 made for one of those rare cases. As an ethereal meditation on grief and the aimless coping that can follow, this is a story that is calm and stagnant with introspection when it isn't tense in an understated way.

When we want answers, we occupy an emptiness wherein any chance of moving forward feels both stimulating and slightly out of place, and that's what Assayas and Stewart convey with their direction as well as writing and acting, respectively.

The ending feels a bit rushed, but that's easier to forgive when the movie as a whole has more staying power than most. Maureen (Kristen Stewart) is lonely a personal shopper for a model named Kyra (Nora von Waldstätten), operating largely out of and living in Paris.

It's been about three months since Maureen's twin brother Lewis has died of a heart attack brought on by a malformation that they both have, and, being a psychic medium, she begins to receive signals from spirits, often times in the form of anonymous text messages.

This spirit teases out things from her which she hasn't previously faced: her longing for identity; her fascination with materialism; examinations of her wants and purpose. The movie--which is Assayas and Stewart's second collaboration after the similarly great Clouds of Sils Maria two years ago--uses a ghost story to examine the typical grief experienced by a person.

The movie is edited and lit in a way that adds a haziness to the endeavor, using brisk fade-outs to periodize scenes and linking the luxury that surrounds Maureen with an overcast look often associated with a funeral.

It's slick and finely tuned with a coolness that often echoes the sentiments of its protagonist while all feeling motivated within the space of the film itself. The movie rides a fine line of portraying the world from the perspective of Maureen while still holding onto an objective reality.

We see the progression of emotions in a subtle way that allows us to connect the dots regarding motivations in behavior, and the movie feels closer because of that trust that Assayas grants us as audience members.

Stewart's performance also accentuates a lot of the film's positives, with her shakily sympathetic demeanor projecting the thoughts on her character onto us. She knows how to use her presence and imply feelings by using silence, and that's an attribute of a talented performer.

The issues with Personal Shopper happen to stem from the script, which is a bit inconsistent in its pacing. While I was actively engaged throughout, the movie's final act seemed rushed and had the story feel messier than it should have.

Some revelations felt small and a shift in location came off as jarring, despite the final scene that it houses still being--no pun intended--rather haunting. These issues are, in retrospect, also apparent in the first act in which some characters' relationships feel glossed over.

However, these are issues that may fade away with another viewing, but the movie still has some continuity issues in terms of timestamps next to text messages, although that's admittedly a nitpick.

Personal Shopper deals with grief not just in a way that's unique in its genre, but in how it manages to softly tug the audience along for the ride. When you're alone and in need of reassurance, what do you do? You want to become another person, so do you succumb to the allure of fancy clothes and a lifestyle that doesn't match who you are? Do you respond to the texts from an unknown number just so you can have someone to converse with? Do you take comfort in the anonymity of it all, just in case the other person may be who you're missing the most? Maybe all of the above.

8.5/10, great, B+, definitely above average, etc.