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Shopgirl (2005 - Anand Tucker)
This is a faithful adaptation of Steve Martin's novella of the same name, where we meet Mirabelle Buttersfield and the two men who will be he suitors. Mirabelle (Claire Danes) is a quiet withdrawn young woman somewhat lost in the middle of Los Angeles. She works at the glove counter in Saks Fifth Avenue - not the busiest or hippest counter in the store. And night she returns to her little apartment, sometimes making drawings, most times not doing much of anything. Enter Jeremy (Jason Shawartzman), a hipster doofus who introduces himself at the laundromat. Mirabelle agrees to go out on a couple dates with him, but while his quirky energy is interesting it isn't really what she's been waiting for. Then enter Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a signifigantly older man who sees her in Saks and charms her into a date. She is hesitant and careful, but also flattered, and almost immediately she decides to choose Ray.
What follows could have been a bunch of sitcomy gags and misunderstandings, but instead Shopgirl is a quiet and melancholy character piece much more interested in examining the emotional choices we make in our lives than in going for broad laughs. Danes is the title character and truly the star of the movie. I've never been overly impressed with Danes on screen. Her work on "My So-Called Life" was good teenager stuff, but except for Igby Goes Down I hadn't really seen her expand much past that as an actress. But Claire is very good in Shopgirl, defintiely the best role she's been given and she makes the most of it, playing the curious, fragile and resilient character perfectly note for note. Schwartzman is effortlessly engaging as the space cadet who decides to grow up a bit, and he has an impeccable comic timing. Steve Martin, who adapted his own book, gives himself a difficult role in Ray. He is attractive and charming, though to a more subdued degree than the casual fan may be accustomed to. But the tricky part about Ray's character is he's kind of a bastard. The novella and thankfully the movie too present him as a bit of a creep, which is a delicate balance to maintain and must be revealed in subtle ways. Which isn't to say Ray is a villain either, but he's not the simple character his type might have been in lesser hands.
Shopgirl is being sold as a romantic comedy and I suppose, in a way, it is. But apart from the first section of the film where Mirabelle and Jeremey meet and a very amusing sidetrack in the gallery toward the end of the movie, there isn't much "comedy". As for the "romance" aspect, it isn't idealized but presented with the hurt that often accompanies matters of the heart. This is really a character piece that plays it straight, and the underlying sadness of the three main characters is presented accurately and not used as plot points to get to jokes. This is director Anand Tucker's first feature since 1998's Hilary & Jackie, the biopic on the du Pré sisters starring Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths. That was a pretty heavy drama, but in a way it made him an excellent choice to shepherd Shopgirl, to make sure the more somber and muted tones wouldn't be excised in favor of slight comedy.
If you go in looking for a quiet meeting with a few well-realized characters, Shopgirl is going to be a delightful excursion.
GRADE: B
Shopgirl (2005 - Anand Tucker)
This is a faithful adaptation of Steve Martin's novella of the same name, where we meet Mirabelle Buttersfield and the two men who will be he suitors. Mirabelle (Claire Danes) is a quiet withdrawn young woman somewhat lost in the middle of Los Angeles. She works at the glove counter in Saks Fifth Avenue - not the busiest or hippest counter in the store. And night she returns to her little apartment, sometimes making drawings, most times not doing much of anything. Enter Jeremy (Jason Shawartzman), a hipster doofus who introduces himself at the laundromat. Mirabelle agrees to go out on a couple dates with him, but while his quirky energy is interesting it isn't really what she's been waiting for. Then enter Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a signifigantly older man who sees her in Saks and charms her into a date. She is hesitant and careful, but also flattered, and almost immediately she decides to choose Ray.
What follows could have been a bunch of sitcomy gags and misunderstandings, but instead Shopgirl is a quiet and melancholy character piece much more interested in examining the emotional choices we make in our lives than in going for broad laughs. Danes is the title character and truly the star of the movie. I've never been overly impressed with Danes on screen. Her work on "My So-Called Life" was good teenager stuff, but except for Igby Goes Down I hadn't really seen her expand much past that as an actress. But Claire is very good in Shopgirl, defintiely the best role she's been given and she makes the most of it, playing the curious, fragile and resilient character perfectly note for note. Schwartzman is effortlessly engaging as the space cadet who decides to grow up a bit, and he has an impeccable comic timing. Steve Martin, who adapted his own book, gives himself a difficult role in Ray. He is attractive and charming, though to a more subdued degree than the casual fan may be accustomed to. But the tricky part about Ray's character is he's kind of a bastard. The novella and thankfully the movie too present him as a bit of a creep, which is a delicate balance to maintain and must be revealed in subtle ways. Which isn't to say Ray is a villain either, but he's not the simple character his type might have been in lesser hands.
Shopgirl is being sold as a romantic comedy and I suppose, in a way, it is. But apart from the first section of the film where Mirabelle and Jeremey meet and a very amusing sidetrack in the gallery toward the end of the movie, there isn't much "comedy". As for the "romance" aspect, it isn't idealized but presented with the hurt that often accompanies matters of the heart. This is really a character piece that plays it straight, and the underlying sadness of the three main characters is presented accurately and not used as plot points to get to jokes. This is director Anand Tucker's first feature since 1998's Hilary & Jackie, the biopic on the du Pré sisters starring Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths. That was a pretty heavy drama, but in a way it made him an excellent choice to shepherd Shopgirl, to make sure the more somber and muted tones wouldn't be excised in favor of slight comedy.
If you go in looking for a quiet meeting with a few well-realized characters, Shopgirl is going to be a delightful excursion.
GRADE: B