Personal Shopper

Writer-director Olivier Assayas's Personal Shopper is a weird combination of supernatural thriller and murder mystery. Set to some extent in the world of high fashion, the story centers on Maureen Cartwright (Kristen Stewart), a young American living in Paris who purchases wardrobe items for a busy rich woman. Maureen may also possess psychic powers, which she tests by staying overnight in a house that is supposedly haunted—perhaps by Maureen's recently deceased twin brother. The siblings, who shared a heart condition, promised one another that the first to die would attempt to contact the other from beyond the grave. During the night, Maureen starts receiving strangely seductive texts on her phone, leading her to suspect that she is being contacted by a spectral entity. Other plot elements suddenly appear: Maureen begins trying on the clothes she buys for her employer (although doing so is forbidden), and the experience makes her feel like a different, more adventurous person—one who is ultimately implicated in a murder. Much of Personal Shopper is befuddling on a narrative level, but the brooding mood—aided by Stewart's shell-shocked performance—is nonetheless very powerful. Even though it frustrates as much as it fascinates, this oddly moving film is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an interview with director Olivier Assayas (17 min.), a press conference from the Cannes Film Festival (46 min.), and an essay by critic Glenn Kenny. Bottom line: a solid extras package for this atmospheric drama.] (F. Swietek)