Film Review: Shopgirl
There are few romantic dramedies as successful as this Anand Tucker directed film Shopgirl, which is from the Steve Martin novel. Having previously directed the independent film Hilary & Jackie (1998), Tucker is more than capable of handling the quiet moments of Martin’s dense story about a lonely shopgirl who’s looking for love in the big city far away from home.
Shopgirl finds Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) pining away slowly at a dead end job at a prestigious clothing store where life just seems to pass her by day in and day out. She is a artist who strives for more yet settles for what life brings her especially in the chance encounter at the local laundry mat with Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), also an artist of a different type, who has his own problems especially when it comes to connecting with women. It a bit of desperation for someone to connect with, Mirabelle accepts a date with Jeremy if nothing more than to feel connected, but Jeremy’s eccentric tendencies pose a problem for them both yet Mirabelle finds herself over looking them.
As Jeremy becomes inspired by Mirabelle and take a chance opportunity to tour with a band, Mirabelle finds herself unexpectedly drawn to the strange wealthy and older man Ray Porter (Steve Martin) who sends her a gift even though they don’t know each other. Mirabelle engages into an affair with the older man in hopes of finding true love rather than just settling for the next best thing, unbeknownst to her that Porter doesn’t see their relationship as anything more than physical. As their relationship grows stronger Mirabelle yearns to know that their relationship is more than just physical but things take a decidedly different turn once Jeremy returns from his tour a changed man inspired by what Mirabelle’s influence.
Shopgirl is about finding true love in the most unlikeliest of places and knowing when not just to settle for the next best thing. The cast is extremely likable and endearing, all aspects of Martin’s original novel brought to life by the exceptional cast. Tucker does a great job visually conveying Mirabelle’s detachment from her surrounds at the beginning of the film to her eventual connection with Jeremy by the end. The film works best when not being bold but being subtle and allowing the performances to shine above everything else, which is the same technique Tucker used in Hilary & Jackie.
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