Personal Shopper

A lot of people are going to go into “Personal Shopper” with the wrong impressions, or for the wrong reason and will leave disappointed. This film has ghosts in it. If you automatically think that means it’s a horror movie and that you’ll be scared, think again. If you go into because you know Kristen Stewart appears topless, this movie's not for you. This Olivier Assayas film is unconventional. If you like new things like I do, you're good to go.

Maureen (Stewart) is a personal shopper. She helps wealthy clients find and purchase clothes and accessories. She also has the ability to sense and see ghosts and hopes to get in touch with her recently deceased fraternal twin.

There are elements of this film that are tense, even frightening. I still wouldn’t call “Personal Shopper” a horror movie. Maureen sees an apparition. She’s taken aback and so are you, that's simply a natural reaction. The meat of this story comes from her character and her daily routine. Let’s face it, there’s no money to be made by seeing phantasms, not really. Maureen must instead take a job she’s interested in, but not passionate about. For me, getting a glimpse at someone else's life is interesting. You sympathize with her and become worried that her mental state will cost her her paycheck (those outfits are just sooo tempting, but trying them on is a big no-no), not that some reanimated skeleton will strangle her.

“Personal Shopper” is a lot of things. It’s a character piece, it’s got elements of a ghost story, it’s a tale of seduction, of intrigue… and sometimes it feels a little bit weird for weirdness’ sake. The running time is a bit bloated and the ending is too ambiguous for my taste. There’s also a scene two-thirds in that concludes strangely. It’s an instance where I wish it was a bit more conventional so that we could have a few more clear-cut answers, a payoff to the scenes that came before it.

If you’re interested in the idea of seeing what can be done with the idea of ghosts minus all of the clichés (this is a completely unpredictable story), fashion intrigues you, or you like off-beat films, it’s worth a look. I’ve seen Stewart be good before, like as “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”, but she’s never been better than she is here playing a woman that’s grieving and deeply unhappy.

If you’ve made it this far, I think you’re ready for “Personal Shopper”. It’s not for everyone, but I’d rather you take a chance and see it feeling lukewarm than miss out in favor of a more mainstream picture that takes no chances and is ultimately forgettable. (Theatrical version on the big screen, April 8, 2017)