In Personal Shopper (Dir. Olivier Assayas), Kirsten Stewart plays Maureen, a personal shopper for a wealthy socialite and model. She is a medium and is haunted by her recently deceased twin brother’s ghost. Maureen and brother Lewis have the same heart condition, that can cause a heart attack at any moment. They agreed, that whoever dies first would send the other a sign from the afterlife.
Maureen waits in Paris for this sign from Lewis and explores their curious childhood home for clues and suggestions of her brother’s ghost. She begins to receive texts from a stalker, these messages cause a sense of thrill and tension. Throughout the film, she battles with her conscience and her sanity.
An engaging supernatural thriller, the cinematography in the film creates a mysterious and eerie atmosphere. Especially in their first home, when Maureen goes to seek Lewis’ ghost. An ominous mood is presented through the use of dark, grey-blue tones and a suspenseful soundtrack. She believes that her true calling is to be a medium, rather than the job of a personal shopper, which she hates.
Kristen Stewart’s performance is outstanding and she carries the film. Her lonely but quietly confident demeanour, creates a secretive undercurrent. Maureen’s anxiety escalates resulting from the search for Lewis’ spirit and responding to the chilling messages of her stalker.
A haunting and suspenseful thriller, it had some great qualities. However, many questions are left unanswered by the end of the film with no sense of closure. On the other hand, this helps to form my own interpretation of the film’s unanswered questions and provokes personal thoughts and ideas. This film does question the presence of spirits and ghosts, but does not answer these larger than life queries. Maureen doesn’t appear to feel so lonely when she connects with her belief in spirits and the afterlife.
The film depicts the idea that both the dead and the alive can haunt you and how this can affect your sanity and beliefs. In Maureen’s torturous journey she is connected, not to her peers but to the afterlife and to the souls of the dead.
Personal Shopper is released nationally 13 April
Amy Leydman
