It’s would be fair to say that Kristen Stewart’s transformation from teen franchise starlet to one of the world’s most talented young actors is nothing short of miraculous. Who would have thought that the almost perpetually gormless Bella Swann would go on to wow in Certain Women, Clouds of Sils Maria and Still Alice. In Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper she gives her best performance yet; elevating her to the ‘A’ list of indie actresses.
Maureen (Stewart) works as a personal shopper for a rich celebrity (Nora von Waldstätten). Struggling to cope with the recent death of her twin brother Lewis, Maureen’s time is split between travelling around Europe collecting clothes and accessories for her boss and trying to find a trace of Lewis in Paris. Both were keen spiritualists and Maureen is waiting for Lewis to give her a sign from the other side. When mysterious texts start arriving, she’s torn between fear and hope.
It’s difficult to categorise Personal Shopper, but at heart it’s a film about grief, spirituality and the ties which connect identical siblings. It’s also a ghost story. A pretty scary one. Assayas serves up a multi-layered feast of a film, spanning several genres. Stewart’ plays it beautifully, portraying both power and fragility. Personal Shopper is an intriguing, mysterious and unsettling drama which keeps the audience in the dark until the very end.
Personal Shopper is released on released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital by Icon Film Distribution on Monday 17 July.
