Maureen Cartwright is haunted. Whether it be by the spirit of her dead twin
brother, something troubling from her past or mental illness is open to
debate. The fact that she’s aware that
something’s amiss may help her come to terms with her belief that she’s a
medium. That her former sister-in-law and a couple buying the house where here
brother lived and worked encourage this, only fuels her belief that she will
receive a sign from her dead sibling from the other side.
Questions of identity abound in Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper where Maureen is
concerned. This is a woman that’s
obviously adrift, living in a foreign city, associating with people she fails
to connect with. Working as a personal
shopper for a woman she seldom sees, she’s constantly tempted to try on the
cutting edge fashion and expensive jewelry she delivers. She hates this job, yet has no plans to find
another and does little to foster the relationship with her boyfriend. She’s lonely, but doesn’t seem to mind,
content to wait for the message she believes is coming from her brother.
While the script, by Assayas contains a red herring or two,
which is part and parcel of ghost stories, what’s as important is what’s not in
the script. There are key elements about
Maureen’s character that are not revealed.
We are told that she has a heart condition like the one that killed her
brother, yet we learn nothing of her parents, where she was born, what sort of
work she did before her present position or what she would like to do. Not knowing these things don’t seem important
at the time but once we reach the film’s ending, what we don’t know about
Maureen seems more important than what we do.
As the troubled main character, Kristin Stewart is perfectly
cast. Never the most demonstrative of performers, it is easy to project things
upon her, which is key to understanding Maureen. She lacks identity, is searching but unsure
of what for and ultimately displays a sense of frustration when she repeatedly
fails to find her place. The actress is very good and willing to give herself
over fully, emotionally and physically to the cause.
This is a very quiet film and employs a very long fuse,
which will tax the patience of some viewers.
However, it does contain two stand out sequences, one in which a brutal
murder is discovered, another involving Maureen texting someone she doesn’t
know (her brother?) Assayas shows great mastery and confidence here, as he
takes his time building the tension during each, nearly going too far where the
viewer’s patience is concerned. However, the pay-off for each is worthwhile, as
the director lulls us into a false sense of security before delivering two
effectively chilling moments.
The conclusion of the film is designed to prompt
discussion. It appears that Maureen gets
some answers to her questions until the final line of dialogue, which suddenly
puts a new slant on all we’ve seen. This
isn’t meant to frustrate but rather add a layer of mystery to the story. Maureen is suddenly faced with questions for
which there may not be any answers and for her, nothing could be more
terrifying.
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2017.
