Personal Shopper

Personal Shopper(2016) - Olivier Assayas

Feeling at least a little frustrated at the end of this film I reluctantly rated Personal Shopper 4 stars, because I had to admit that like a good prank or a nasty joke, they totally got me. When I woke up at 3 am thinking about the film and letting all the pieces come together I started to question if 4 out of 5 stars was possibly underselling this tense, frightening, and totally original little movie. I don’t think I’m going to try to explain all the various premises in Personal Shopper, but suffice to say you are getting much more than a ghost story here. This is a film where the actual feelings of grief, anxiety, and trauma are transferred to the viewer in a way that only cinema can accomplish. The whole movie hangs on the performance of Kristen Stewart who’s ability to simultaneously seem like she’s barely acting while overacting fits perfectly with the extreme emotional peaks and totally mundanity of Personal Shopper. This really isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but it's totally original which is worth the price of admission alone these days.