Personal Shopper (2017)

I kept changing my mind about what I was watching as I followed director Olivier Assayas' ghost story Personal Shopper. To put it into American film references is it Ghost? Is it The Sixth Sense? Is it The Others? Is it Shutter Island? I don't want to spoil too much, and I don't think I spoil it all at, but if you are a spoiler purist stop reading. Generally I will just say I don't think it is any of the above. I took it as a full on ghost story and don't really think the other theories hold up.

For me Personal Shopper is about fear of death mixed with this idea of drawing to us the fears we walk around with. This made the ending (again no spoilers) quite terrifying for me. Is she summoning her own demons? If so what is coming for her? Would ignorance perhaps have been bliss? I don't see that as a reality for Stewart's Maureen. She needs to know at all costs. The typical tragic hero bringing about her own downfall? And is that downfall classic horror movie downfall (being murdered) or more existential terror sort of downfall?

The movie has her say (or text) explicitly that she doesn't like horror movies because the characters always run towards the danger. This movie is all about her running towards the danger. Asssayas has crafted this incredible horror movie, completely within the scope of the horror genre, without making it feel like a horror movie at all. He drops the cliched aspects but boils down the essentials into something quite chilling. But it may not be recognized as such because it doesn't ring the traditional horror movie bells. But I came out of it quite creeped out, more so than most horror films.

But the movie remained less than perfect for me for a couple of reasons. The first is Stewart who I am still not convinced deserves the praise she gets from the indie crowd as a performer. I find her always quite wooden and her emoting feels stifled, awkward. Here is mostly works because it fits what the character needs but she didn't grab me in the way I needed to be fully immersed.  Until the end. Her acting in the final scene is spot on and enthralled me.

The second is Assayas' almost arrogance towards his audience. I struggled with his previous film, the much loved The Clouds of Sils Maria, because I felt it was all about ideas and not about story. While I felt he gets into story telling more with Personal Shopper, he retains aspects of this intellectual snobbishness by disposing of plot threads that are no longer relevant in a dismissive, dishonest way. It is hard to discuss without spoiling it but there are parts of the movie which just get pushed to the side without getting wrapped up without integrity and this takes away from the power of the story somewhat. 

Still he won me over with this, as did Stewart in the end, and Personal Shopper haunts me, which is exactly what a ghost story should do. I have only seen it once. I will see it again. But films like this are the kind that you can only experience in a certain way the first time. Once you see it again, knowing what you know, it will be a different experience. It will still be a rich one, perhaps richer, but it will never be the same as the first time. I am currently living in that space of being the first time viewer and I'll let that sit with me for a while.

Personal Shopper
Starring: Kristen Stewart
Writer/Director: Olivier Assayas