Personal Shopper (2016) Reviews

• Unique/Engaging Character Study of Loss and Grief

  kstevens-880332017-04-22

  I saw this movie a few days ago and have been haunted by it ever since. I am writing this review more to clarify my own thoughts and feelings rather than to try and influence anyone to see (or not see) it. I have always believed the sexiest/most compelling thing about a woman is her confidence, and, for me, Personal Shopper is the cinematic equivalent of that belief. I cannot remember ever seeing a movie so supremely confident in itself, which kept my eyes glued to the screen wanting to know more. Director Olivier Assayas managed to create a film that is so sure of itself it defies all genres, conventions, and expectations. He found a perfect balance between not caring what the audience thinks about his movie without alienating or insulting his audience with how much he doesn't care. No emotional manipulation or trying to cater to/please the widest possible audience here, which is so very refreshing. This is what he has to say. Take it or leave it. Love it or hate it. So, while it is not the best movie I have ever seen and has it's flaws, I am still giving it a very high rating for daring to be different. On a side note, taste in movies is extremely subjective, so I can understand and respect the reasons why other reviewers gave this movie such low ratings. However, I do not agree with the common practice of putting down other reviewers/calling them idiots for having different opinions. In a perfect world, I wish we could all just agree to disagree without being hateful/hurtful. Peace.

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• The last 10 minutes

  satxfan2018-02-02

  I loved this film. I watched it twice and went back to the final minutes of the film, starting with the note telling Maureen to go to Room 329. Maureen goes to the Plaza, Room 329 with the bags of Cartier jewelry, She goes to meet the person who she suspects killed Kyra. In the room, she puts the jewelry on the bed, she then sees someone that we don't see and then, the scene fades to black. The next shot is of the hotel elevator and hotel doors opening and closing as if an invisible being is walking out. Is this Maureen's ghost/spirit? Was Maureen killed in room 329? It seems so. Back inside, the next scene if of Ingo exiting room 329 alone, leaving the hotel and being accosted by the police. He escapes.. From there to the end, Maureen is only a spirit. In Oman, she finally realizes that what has happened. "Is it me?" she asks. (Many commenters about the film seem to doubt that a Personal Shopper is an actual job. Yes, it is. There are personal shoppers in high-end stores that assist the wealthy as well as helping photographers, filmmakers and other professionals find the needed clothing and accessories for their project. Personal Shoppers also work for celebrities, as in this film. It's not an easy job because of the demands and responsibilities.)

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• Go for it. There's no way to tell whether you'll like it or not before you see it.

  jerejes2016-11-13

  I watched this one at the Thessaloniki film festival and I was once again impressed by the filmmaking skills of the Great Olivier Assayas, who is as self assured as anyone could be while writing and directing this cinematic riddle. But let's start with the basics. The film is about a young woman Maureen (Kristen Stewart), who works for an eccentric and spoiled celebrity, serving as her personal shopper, but also doing other irrelevant chores. Three months after her twin brother's death, who died from the same heart malformation that she has, Maureen still spends her free nights at her old family house, waiting for her brother to send her some sort of message from the afterlife. She believes that she, like her brother, is a medium and that she can have contacts with the spiritual world. But when Maureen truly opens herself to this world, whose very existence she doubts, her life gets more and more complicated and the boundaries between reality and what may be her dark fantasies (?) or the spiritual world (?) grow even harder to tell apart. The film can be interpreted as a parable about the way in which our belief in supernatural factors highly complicates our lives and after a certain point, as we begin to interpret even the most tedious and unimportant events of our routine as miraculous interference of a greater force or being. But even if you approach it plot-wise only, it is still extremely engaging and unexpectedly terrifying, as you are filled, like the film's protagonist, with uncertainty about the future. You simply cannot predict what is about to happen, because the film is like the mysterious entity that keeps messaging Maureen; it is impossible to safely say which its intentions are. What may actually cause hate and dislike towards the film from most people is how much it relies on the decisions of the audience. After the brilliant texting sequence, which had me on the edge of my seat, it is entirely up to you to say what is really happening. You even get to decide if a character is living or dead, real or unreal, which to my mind is thrilling, but to many a man it will be unimaginably tiring and pointless. But then there is a career - best performance by the electrifying Kristen Stewart and Assayas' masterful direction which, along with a script that demands attention and inspires countless conversations, render "Personal Shopper" an unforgettable experience.

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• Very unnerving in a good way, i liked it quite a bit

  omgmrtea2016-10-02

  Just saw this at the 12. Zurich Film Festival. For me, what really stands out about this movie is the fact that you don't know where it is going. It was a stressful experience, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. Is it about something supernatural? Is it psychological? Is it ...? I've seen a lot of movies in my life, but rarely one that is unsettling in a very subtle way like this one. I was never really sure what to expect from the movie, and at certain points it was quite unnerving. Honestly at some point during the movie, i was JUST NOT SURE anymore where it was going, which was very suspenseful and at the same time very stressful, haha. Kristen Stewart, whose independent movies i like very much anyway(The Yellow Handkerchief/Welcome to the Rileys/Speak etc), delivers a great performance and really adds a lot to the mood, and you can really feel her psychological stress, especially in a very well done train sequence, and, well.. Telling any more would spoil the experience i feel, that's why i stop now. It's best if you don't know too much about the movie imo. If you want to see something different/unique, you don't mind a slower pace and you like it if circumstances are not always perfectly clear - this is one for you. 8/10

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• Tedious non-event

  mdhugs2018-01-17

  An astonishingly tedious movie that you continue to watch in the vain hope that Kristen Stewart's character (Maureen, no seriously, Maureen!), who resembles more a street junkie than an angst-ridden bereaved sister, washes her hair. Laughable special effects (hovering cups, things that go bump in the night etc etc) are coupled with the preposterous suggestion that somebody has chosen to employ and trust the incredibly surly, heroin-chic Maureen to purchase clothes, bags and jewelry suitable for a high-flyer. Occasionally Maureen takes her top off (which even as a red-blooded male seemed to me to be exploitative), tries the clothes on (after being told not to) and does some more exploitative solo-girl action on a bed. In between all this Maureen tries to contact her dead brother because she is a medium (possibly revised down to a small after seeing her topless). Eventually it all ends ambiguously. The 'arty' set love this film. Only because, and presumably that is why Ms Stewart agrees to take her clothes off, they collectively believe that if a film has a French director it must be dark, atmospheric and stylish rather than what it actually is: Pretentious, soulless and meaningless.

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