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Movie Review: “Personal Shopper” Is A Ghost-Chasing Disappointment Straight Out Of The Bag

[yasr_overall_rating]
 

“Personal Shopper” revolves around a ghost story that takes place in the fashion underworld of Paris.

I love the versatile acting nature of Kristen Stewart. She plays so many characters that you love to hate, that it is almost a burden that you must like her until she shows you that it is impossible to do so. In this role, the confusion starts early on as she is literally dropped off at an abandoned home in Paris, France in the middle of what seems to be nowhere, with nothing but emotional baggage that seems to weigh heavily on her mind. The purpose of the trip is to make contact with her recently deceased twin brother Lewis. According to a prearranged promise, it was agreed that whoever died first, would come back and give the other a sign, that everything was going to be okay. It seems that neither Maureen (Kristen Stewart), nor Lewis’ girlfriend Lara (Sigrid Bouaziz) who drops her off, got the memo from Lewis, and they both seem to be vaguely dependent upon one another to tie up the loose ends so they both can move on.

The creepiness sets in quickly as Maureen takes a tour of the house to check out its vulnerability for being able to pick up on signs that she expects to receive from Lewis. When the water mysteriously starts to run, so does Maureen as she tries to capture the essence of ghost activity. Soon Maureen gets back into routine with her day job as a personal shopper for the even more mysterious Kyra who jet sets around the world making lists of where Maureen needs to shop for her next fashion statement. While Maureen has the behavior of a person in isolation, she seems to communicate daily with her boyfriend, Lara, and Kyra’s sidepiece who seems to have a thing for Maureen. The simple life Maureen seems to have becomes complicated by her unwillingness to find a job that doesn’t make her miserable and a routine that doesn’t consist of communication with a dead person.

Interestingly enough, Maureen’s state of confusion seems to be the one thing that guides her daily living. Her random thoughts and fascination with the dead slowly consume her and as she begins to get taunted by an unknown admirer that texts her, she also begins to receive more communication from a ghostlike figure that she isn’t totally convinced who it is. When her personal shopper boss Kyra is mysteriously murdered, she is forced to deal with the texter on a different level. This creates a new reason for Maureen to step out of her comfort zone and give in to the demands of the texter, who by default, seems to be the only one who knows her best.

To her credit, Kristen Stewart is the perfect actor for this deeply mysterious role in which neither craziness nor solitude brings merit to her quest for answers that defy any questions the film or the audience may have with regard to her true purpose in life. While Director Olivier Assayas seems to have created the perfect storm for Kristen to develop her acting chops, nothing seems to make sense in Maureen’s life except the fact that she seems better at her job than she gives herself credit for and closer to making contact with Lewis than she realizes. All that happens in between is just a scary mix of missteps that leads to nothing more than a grave disappointment, dressed up as an angry ghost who preys on the vulnerable, just because it can.

In theaters Friday, March 24th

 

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Tracee Bond

Tracee is a movie critic and interviewer who was born in Long Beach and raised in San Diego, California. As a Human Resource Professional and former Radio Personality, Tracee has parlayed her interviewing skills, interest in media, and crossover appeal into a love for the Arts and a passion for understanding the human condition through oral and written expression. She has been writing for as long as she can remember and considers it a privilege to be complimented for the only skill she has been truly able to master without formal training!