a PERSONAL SHOPPER musing

PERSONAL SHOPPER takes on so much, from a murder mystery to a haunting thriller to a quiet character piece, that it gets lost in what it’s trying to say. Maureen, played by Kristen Stewart, is a celebrity’s personal shopper, since the celebrity doesn’t have time to do her own shopping. Meanwhile, her twin brother passed recently, and since they were both spiritual mediums, she’s waiting for a sign from him from the afterlife. On top of that, she begins to receive texts from an unknown person who seems to be stalking her. As you can tell, it’s quite a lot to develop, and the movie doesn’t do a great job of that.

The only saving grace here is Kristen Stewart, who redeems herself from her TWILIGHT series missteps here, though. Her unaffected stone-like face is used to great result, since it is able to hide her true emotions so well. When she does smile or cry, it hits harder because of that mask. She’s extremely subtle, but incredible in this role. If only the rest of this messy movie could match her performance, I think I would have loved this more.

Rating: Why Did I Watch This?

(Refer to my rating system here!)