Review of Personal Shopper (2016) by Ginak — 21 Mar 2017

Near the end of this film, the Personal Shopper is communicating with the other-world through a series of questions that are answered with either a single or double thud for yes or no. It’s a haunting scene, but your interpretation of the “message” depends on how you arbitrarily interpret the thuds (one for yes and two for no or vice versa – your choice).

If you love traditional horror films, this will frustrate you and make you crazy. If you are a bit more willing to “go with” an “art film,” you may find this interesting, but also a bit too pat and annoying.

I loved Assayas’ last film, The Clouds of Sils Maria, which had a kind of ghostly presence in it (the old playwright who dies at the beginning of the film just before the revival of his biggest early success), but this film, which seems inspired by the enigmatic Personal Assistant (played by Kristen Stewart) in the earlier film, has morphed into an interesting experiment but not a completely satisfying film of any kind.