• Home
  • Meetings
  • Events
  • Blog
  • E-Board
  • Around Boston
NUFEC
.

Carter Sigl on Personal Shopper

3/17/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
One of my favorite graphic novel writers, Alan Moore, once said that: "Life isn't divided into genres. It's a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel.” It’s one of the fundamental divides between fiction and reality; in fact, the concept of genre is so fundamental to fiction that most works cannot function without it. Each genre comes with an associated collection of tropes which we as viewers come to recognize, and then use to organize our viewing of fiction. When we watch a science fiction movie, we generally know what to expect from it, and if the movie suddenly started throwing tropes from romantic comedies at us we would likely react negatively. But once in a while a film is able to deftly defy genre conventions, and Personal Shopper is one of them.
​
Maureen (Kristen Stewart) is an American living in Paris. By day, she works as a personal shopper for a famous French model named Kyra (Nora von Waldstätten), buying her new dresses and jewelry to wear at fashion shows. But by night, she works as a medium, trying to contact the spirits of the dead. In particular, she is attempting to contact the spirit of her recently-deceased twin brother, Lewis. She and Lewis, also a medium, had promised each other that whomever died first would send a sign from the other side. But after three months of fruitless waiting, she is just about to give up. 

Directed by Olivier Assayas (Clouds of Sils Maria), Personal Shopper is an odd mixture of different genres. On the one hand, it has its supernatural elements, but it never quite lapses into horror territory. Rather, it’s reminiscent of how Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak described itself not as a “ghost story” but as a “story with ghosts in it”. The film never really uses its ghosts to scare the viewer, though they are used to build tension to impressive effect. Yet the movie also use more grounded ways to create suspense, and sometimes even mixes the supernatural with the ordinary in an unusual manner; one example is when Maureen has a bizarre conversation via text message with either a stalker or a ghost. The film leaves the nature of this and many other details ambiguous. 

And finally, it’s also a personal drama and character study, and in this respect Kristen Stewart shines. Although it’s easy to forget because of her role in the Twilight franchise, Stewart is a highly skilled actress when paired with an accomplished director, and between this and Clouds of Sils Maria she seems to have made a connection with Assayas. What this character study is actually trying to say, however, I’m not sure about; it’s definitely something regarding grief and loss, but the precise meaning was lost on me. This is a movie I feel that you need to watch twice before all the subtleties become apparent.

A fascinating mixture of supernatural aspects, character drama, and thriller elements and a tour de force for Kristen Stewart, Personal Shopper is an unusual yet intriguing story “with ghosts in it”. If you’re looking for something a little outside the ordinary, I’d say Olivier Assayas’ genre-busting film is a good pick.

Grade: A-
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    AJ Martin
    Andy Robinson
    Anime
    Anthony Formicola
    Anu Gulati
    Arjun Agarwal
    Arzu Martinez
    Ben Garbow
    Brandon Isaacson
    Brian Hamilton
    Carter Sigl
    Dan Simeone
    Discussion
    Elizabeth Johnson Wilson
    Eliza Rosenberry
    Emily Fisler
    Erick Sanchez
    Eric Tatar
    Essays
    Festivals
    Gabrielle Ulubay
    Grace Phalon
    Haley Emerson
    Here's Some Movies
    Ian Wolff
    IFF Boston
    IFFBoston 2015
    Interviews
    Isaac Feldberg
    Kunal Asarsa
    Library
    Lists
    Marguerite Darcy
    Marissa Marchese
    Marli Dorn
    Mary Tobin
    Meghan Murphy
    Mike Muse
    Mitch Macro
    Neel Shah
    Netflix Instant Watch
    Parth Parekh
    Patrick Roos
    Profiles
    Reviews
    Short Films
    Television
    This Week In Movies
    Tyler Rosini

    Want to Write for Us?

    Contact NUFEC at [email protected] if you're interested in writing for this blog!

    Archives

    October 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    April 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.