Personal Shopper * 1/2 of a star
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to watch either The Last Word w/Shirley Maclaine or Personal Shopper w/Kristen Stewart. I owe Shirley a bouquet of flowers, and a nice red wine as an apology for choosing the Hot Mess that is Personal Shopper. I had to sit and think for a few weeks as to whether or not I was being overly harsh. Or maybe I've settled into the midwestern American way of thinking
about Cinema. As in not being into European made films that aren't straight forward and laid out in nice neat packaging.
Nope.
While I may not be a Francophile ( lover of all things French) I refuse to believe that being an American means I can not understand this movie.
I can list other french movies, and their American counterparts, in which the European version are far superior.
This. Is. Not. ONE. Of. THEM.
Watch the Video of the trailer if you have not already, and then proceed to read the rest of this post .
Done?
Immediate issue: Mislabeling of this film and general misdirection. After viewing the trailer, it leaves the audience with the " Oh this may be an ok thriller/horror movie"
WRONG, its a lackluster drama that amped up the trailer to get more butts in seats. Brilliant Marketing, horrible delivery.
Pros:
There is one moment of absolute vulnerability by Kristen Stewart that floored me. She's a on train heading to London and breaks down in grief, and attempts to hide it from the other passengers. This is the only 2 minutes of the movie that are worthwhile.
Semi decent cgi for the "malevolent entity"
Cons:
Directors choice to drive the movie for what seems like 45 min in a world of 'texting' and watching youtube.
Kristen Stewart constant blinking, verbal spurts and tics.
Bad Writing.
Overall: I would probably watch this one more time. After that, nope. As far as a recommendation, If you're at the Redbox, and you have a choice between this movie, and any movie that Nicolas Cage has done Post Ghost Rider.......leave the redbox, go home, and read a book.
Extended TL:DR commentary:
**** SPOILER ALERT*****
She's not a medium, she is what people would call a Sensitive. Mediums are able to communicate with the dead using whatever skill or talent that they have either they hear/feel a presence and communicate verbally, through signs, or drawing/writing. Maureen is a Sensitive, she can sense a presence, but either through her own lack of training/ability is unable to communicate. This
misnomer I'm going to chalk up to bad writing and little to no research.
20 minutes in, she's in a gorgeous house that her twin bro has died in. She's waiting for a sign, and a"malevolent" female apparition shows up. Maureen cowers in the corner, screams and then the apparition disappears after destroying a drawing, a table, turns on some water faucets, and scratches up the walls. At this point, my interest that was peaked...IS NOW lost. I, no longer feel anything towards this character, and should have left the theater. Why? because what person claims to be a medium and then flips out.
But that house though, FABULOUS.
Maureen after getting scared informs the potential buyers of the house that, oh you know the Spirit is gone, and probably won't be coming, No big deal. (LIAR)
We finally get to the part where the title of the movie comes in, Personal Shopper, she's an American working as a personal shopper for a French celebrity. A job that she detests, on all levels minus the pay. It is at a brief encounter at her employers Flat (apartment) that we meet Ingo the hot/cold lover of the french starlet that employs Maureen. To this complete stranger she in a moment of vulnerability reveals yet again, about her dead bro, and plans to wait for a "message" from him. In addition to how much she dislikes her job, yet declines an offer of something better from Ingo.
Issue #3
Immediately after this meeting, Maureen starts receiving mysterious texts from an unknown number that she immediately suspects is her dead bro.
For the next what seems like 45 min, the audience. READS the texts in addition to watching youtube videos on Klimt the painter, and seances.
In reality it was probably 25, but Oof. It is a ballsy move to use text messaging as a way to drive a film. I come to a movie to get away from texting, not to be subjected.
Issue # 4
Suspension of disbelief. The term suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief has been defined as a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.
Completely and utterly blown, insultingly so. I can maybe believe that her dead bro is sending her text messages, and asking questions that rattle her soul.
What I can NOT believe is that her dead bro is leaving hotel room keys.
You READ that right!! HOTEL ROOM KEYS!!!! An non corporeal being leaving HOTEL ROOM KEYS!!! I refuse to believe anyone real or fiction can be that dumb.
Issue #5
I want to like Kristen Stewart, she has an interesting body of work. She's grown a lot since the first time I saw her in "Panic Room". What annoys me to non end, is her constant use of blinking, and body tics to convey some sort of emotion.
Its distracting, the constant blinking, is she delivering lines via morse code, or like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The tics, I honestly haven't seen someone shake as much since I watched a comedy special featuring Richard Pryor before he died.
The verbal starts, and stutters along with the blinks and tics, is a cheap choice as a show of character, and to repeat it for different characters in her career I fear may be indicative of flat out laziness. In this case, it was distracting. I was not picking up on a woman that was distraught. With one exception of a moment on a train to London, Maureen breaks down in tears and hides her face from the rest of the passengers. Outside of that...Meh.
Issue #6
Dead Bro shows up 15 min before movie ends, Maureen barely notices. Really? but seriously? Really?
**** SPOILER ALERT*****
She's not a medium, she is what people would call a Sensitive. Mediums are able to communicate with the dead using whatever skill or talent that they have either they hear/feel a presence and communicate verbally, through signs, or drawing/writing. Maureen is a Sensitive, she can sense a presence, but either through her own lack of training/ability is unable to communicate. This
misnomer I'm going to chalk up to bad writing and little to no research.
20 minutes in, she's in a gorgeous house that her twin bro has died in. She's waiting for a sign, and a"malevolent" female apparition shows up. Maureen cowers in the corner, screams and then the apparition disappears after destroying a drawing, a table, turns on some water faucets, and scratches up the walls. At this point, my interest that was peaked...IS NOW lost. I, no longer feel anything towards this character, and should have left the theater. Why? because what person claims to be a medium and then flips out.
But that house though, FABULOUS.
Maureen after getting scared informs the potential buyers of the house that, oh you know the Spirit is gone, and probably won't be coming, No big deal. (LIAR)
We finally get to the part where the title of the movie comes in, Personal Shopper, she's an American working as a personal shopper for a French celebrity. A job that she detests, on all levels minus the pay. It is at a brief encounter at her employers Flat (apartment) that we meet Ingo the hot/cold lover of the french starlet that employs Maureen. To this complete stranger she in a moment of vulnerability reveals yet again, about her dead bro, and plans to wait for a "message" from him. In addition to how much she dislikes her job, yet declines an offer of something better from Ingo.
Issue #3
Immediately after this meeting, Maureen starts receiving mysterious texts from an unknown number that she immediately suspects is her dead bro.
For the next what seems like 45 min, the audience. READS the texts in addition to watching youtube videos on Klimt the painter, and seances.
In reality it was probably 25, but Oof. It is a ballsy move to use text messaging as a way to drive a film. I come to a movie to get away from texting, not to be subjected.
Issue # 4
Suspension of disbelief. The term suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief has been defined as a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.
Completely and utterly blown, insultingly so. I can maybe believe that her dead bro is sending her text messages, and asking questions that rattle her soul.
What I can NOT believe is that her dead bro is leaving hotel room keys.
You READ that right!! HOTEL ROOM KEYS!!!! An non corporeal being leaving HOTEL ROOM KEYS!!! I refuse to believe anyone real or fiction can be that dumb.
Issue #5
I want to like Kristen Stewart, she has an interesting body of work. She's grown a lot since the first time I saw her in "Panic Room". What annoys me to non end, is her constant use of blinking, and body tics to convey some sort of emotion.
Its distracting, the constant blinking, is she delivering lines via morse code, or like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The tics, I honestly haven't seen someone shake as much since I watched a comedy special featuring Richard Pryor before he died.
The verbal starts, and stutters along with the blinks and tics, is a cheap choice as a show of character, and to repeat it for different characters in her career I fear may be indicative of flat out laziness. In this case, it was distracting. I was not picking up on a woman that was distraught. With one exception of a moment on a train to London, Maureen breaks down in tears and hides her face from the rest of the passengers. Outside of that...Meh.
Issue #6
Dead Bro shows up 15 min before movie ends, Maureen barely notices. Really? but seriously? Really?
