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Personal Shopper
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Wikipedia article
'Personal Shopper' is a 2016 supernatural psychological thriller film written and directed by Olivier Assayas. The film stars Kristen Stewart as a young American woman in Paris who works as a personal shopper for a celebrity and tries to communicate with her deceased twin brother.
An international co-production between Belgium, Czech Republic, France and Germany, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, Assayas shared the Best Director Award with Cristian Mungiu, who directed 'Graduation'. The film was released on 14 December 2016 in France and 10 March 2017 in the United States. The film received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for Stewart's performance.
Plot
Maureen Cartwright is a personal shopper in Paris for Kyra, an entitled supermodel. Maureen waits for her twin brother, Lewis, who recently died of a genetic heart condition, to fulfill their shared oath of sending a signal from the afterlife. Maureen stays overnight at Lewis's home in hopes of receiving a sign and briefly encounters a spiritual presence. Lewis's girlfriend, Lara, goes with Maureen to meet a couple formerly acquainted with Lewis who are interested in purchasing the house. The wife mentions the artist Hilma af Klint whose paintings were inspired by messages from the spirit world. Later, Maureen video chats with her friend, Gary, a contractor in Muscat, Oman, who encourages her to stay with him, which she turns down.
The next day at Kyra's apartment Maureen meets Ingo, a magazine editor and Kyra's lover. Ingo comments that Kyra is planning to break up with him out of fear her husband will discover their relationship. Later, Maureen returns to Lewis's home and is disturbed by the bathroom's faucets turning on. After inspecting the house, Maureen finds her drawings have been violently scratched out, and she is terrorized by a malefic female specter.
Maureen begins receiving text messages from an unknown sender that she initially suspects to be Lewis. The messenger encourages her to indulge in forbidden desires, such as wearing Kyra's clothes. Maureen goes to Kyra's place to wear her clothes and subsequently pleasures herself in Kyra's bed. She falls asleep and is awoken by the same female specter at Lewis's home, and tells Lara the following morning that there is no longer a supernatural presence in the home.
The enigmatic messenger leaves Maureen a room key for a hotel. Donning one of Kyra's newest dresses, Maureen goes to the hotel to find an empty room. She attempts to investigate the texter's identity by inquiring at the front desk, only to discover that the room was pre-paid in cash under her name.
Maureen drops off Kyra's jewelry at the apartment, and cautiously opens Kyra's bedroom door to find Kyra's naked corpse on the bathroom floor. Maureen flees on her motorcycle to the police station, where she is interrogated about her relationship with Kyra. She is eventually released and ignores the texter, who demands to know if Maureen revealed their conversations to the police. Returning to her own apartment, Maureen phones Gary to take up his offer of staying in Muscat. Maureen discovers that she has the jewelry in her apartment, despite telling the police she left it at Kyra's place. The texter demands that Maureen return to the hotel room, which she proceeds to with the jewelry. In the hotel, Maureen seemingly recognizes the clandestine person entering the room. Elevators and doors in the hotel are then shown opening and closing for an invisible entity. Afterwards, Ingo is shown leaving the hotel and is apprehended by two policeman, and confesses to murdering Kyra.
Meeting with Lara at a restaurant, Maureen asks to stay with her before joining Gary in Oman. The next morning, Maureen meets Erwin, Lara's new lover and Lewis's friend. He leaves for work, and as Maureen sits in the garden alone, a figure can be seen in the kitchen holding a glass. The figure disappears and the glass levitates briefly before shattering on the floor.
Maureen flies to Oman to stay with Gary in the mountains. At his retreat, Maureen hears a noise and finds a glass floating in the air; it falls and shatters. She questions the entity, who frustratingly responds to her questions with a single thump. Stricken with emotion, Maureen repeatedly asks, "Lewis, is it you?", during the silence before finally asking, "Or is it just me?", and receives a replying thud.
Cast
Production
In May 2015, it was announced that Olivier Assayas would be directing the film, from a screenplay he wrote, with Kristen Stewart starring. He wrote it for Stewart as the star, as he had worked with her in 'Clouds of Sils Maria'. Charles Gillibert produced the film under his CG Cinema banner. In October 2015, Sigrid Bouaziz, Lars Eidinger, Anders Danielsen Lie, and Nora von Waldsttten also had been cast in the film. In November 2015, Ty Olwin joined the cast, taking the role of Gary, Maureen's boyfriend.
Principal photography began on 27 October 2015 in Paris, France for two weeks and then moved to Prague, London, and Oman.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2016, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. The film was distributed by Les Films du Losange in France, and IFC Films in North America. Universal Pictures distributed the film internationally. The film was screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.
It was released in France on 14 December 2016. The film was released in the United States on 10 March 2017.
In the United States, the movie grossed $79,175 in 4 theaters for an average of $19,794, the highest of the weekend, after adding 31 theaters the next weekend it saw a 92.6% increase to gross $152,478. The movie's final US domestic total was $1,305,195 with a worldwide gross of $2.2 million against a $1 million budget, making it a box office success.
Critical reception
'Personal Shopper' received generally positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports a "Certified Fresh" score of 81% based on 273 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "'Personal Shopper' attempts a tricky series of potentially jarring tonal shifts with varying results, bolstered by a performance from Kristen Stewart that's impossible to ignore." On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 77 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The film was booed at its initial screening at the Cannes Film Festival, about which director Assayas said, "It happens every where people just don't get the ending." At its official premiere at Cannes, the film received a -minute standing ovation.
'The Guardian' awarded the film five stars, calling it "uncategorisable yet undeniably terrifying". Stephanie Zacharek of 'Time' gave a positive review, writing that "'Personal Shopper' is a strange and beautifully made film, and both star and director are clearly energized by their dual mission." She also listed it as one of 'Time's top ten films of 2017. A. O. Scott of 'The New York Times' wrote the film is "sleek and spooky, seductive and suspenseful. It flirts with silliness, as ghost stories do. And also with heartbreak."
Accolades
References
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