Shopgirl
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Movie Reviews of Shopgirl
Movie Review: You can see it in her eyes...
Summary: 5 Stars
Shopgirl is a touching little story based upon the novella by Steve Martin...a guy full of surprising and diverse talents. Claire Danes plays the title role with Steve as Ray and Jason Schwartzman as Jeremy, two guys she meets and becomes involved with in L.A.
Besides excellent and convincing performances on the part of Danes and Martin, Shopgirl is a cinematic wonder. I especially appreciated the shot of Seattle at night. And the sunsets were, in a popular word,--awesome!
This movie is about relationships and how hard it is to commit. Just about anyone can identify with some part of it. A young woman taking anti-depressants and trying to follow her artistic bliss nights works days behind a gloves counter in Saks Department Store. She gets involved with two extremely different men who play a significant role in her maturation process for both better and worse. But it is more than a romantic story and shows the audience about more than just Maribelle (Claire) or Jeremy (Jason) or Ray (Steve)...it is a paradoy on life. And it teaches us something about what love really is and how fragile people's feelings can be.
I laughed when Maribelle and Jeremy are trying to make love and the cat jumps up on the bed to interrupt. This is the grand entrance of the feline in the movie heretofore unseen but referred to and called. That was funny. Cats get good parts these days and we never tire of it. Besides most people living alone have either a cat or a dog...so this was just another realistic touch.
The movie has moments of tenderness which really spoke out to me: like when Ray finally realizes that he does love Maribelle; and I enjoyed watching Jeremy's transition from loser to budding success along with his efforts at self improvement by watching DVD's and reading "how to" books. Pretty dumb...really...but also pretty nice.
As the movie concludes and Steve Martin says as narrator and writer...it is life!
Both of my thumbs are up...and I am expecting at least an Oscar nomination for Claire Danes. Not since Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" have I been so moved by such tenderness, pathos, and resiliance shown by Danes in the role of the Shopgirl. What you don't hear you can see in her eyes.
Movie Review: Beautiful Translation of the Novella
Summary: 5 Stars
For the longest time I resisted viewing this film. I've long been a huge fan of Steve Martin's writing, and I strongly doubted any director, regardless of talent or intent, could adequately convey the hypnotic and transcendent mood Martin creates in the original novella. The prose was just too good, and the effect just too perfect. I didn't want to ruin the pretty little picture of the book that was in my head. Visions of a choppy screenplay caused me to shudder and pass.
Well, I was wrong to be such a nudge. This is an exquisite film. Director Anand Tucker magnificently brings story to screen, and does not miss one nuance.
As department store clerk Mirabelle embarks on a relationship with the much older, much wealthier Ray Porter, we see them struggle within their own emotional prisons to reach out to try and grab the gold ring that is, in each of their eyes, the perfect romance. Of course it doesn't work out, at least not the way each of them envisioned that it might. Yet they are individually enriched in ways they never imagined.
The casting is perfect. The screenplay preserves the original phrasing. Martin's voiceovers really work in re-creating the mood of the original work. Every detail of character, scenery, and costume is strategic, yet appears effortless in the execution. Watch the changes of color in staging and in costume as the story progresses - it's marvelous.
The supporting actors provide wonderful parodies of stereotypical Southern California characters. As with all of Martin's vehicles it seems, the City of Los Angeles is a character in itself and the cinematography of the metropolis is reminiscent of LA Story. Could this tale have happened anywhere? Of course. But in LA it is perfect.
Get the DVD, curl up, have a box of hankies handy for the angsty bits, and a glass of wine to raise to the silly and joyous bits. You'll be glad you did.
Movie Review: An amazing, beautiful film with great cinematography, acting, and score
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I fell in love with Shopgirl, and were amazed at how well-done it was. The film has such an incredible depth, and shows the LA life through the eyes of four characters.
Mirabelle, played by Claire Daines, is such an interesting character that I think everyone can identify with ESPECIALLY if you have dated in LA! She aspires to have a relationship and attracts Jeremy ( who is perfectly played by Jason Schwartzman) but soon finds out that he is in no way prince charming.
Ray Porter ( Martin) is an older man that Mirabella meets at Saks, where she works; soon, Ray asks her out and the rest of the film is about these three characters and what they want from a relationship.
The music is absolutely touching, and the colors used are so vivid and moving. All of these touches really enhance the great script and acting.
The one point in the film ( if any) I have a slight issue with is when Mirabelle stops taking her antidepressant medication and then becomes ill from it, both psychologically and physicaly. Instead of the film addressing that when people go 'cold turkey' off these serious ( and deadly) meds, people can become ill but it can be prevented by doctor supervision and lowering the dosage slowly, the movie just sort of puts Mirabelle on them and doesn't explain anything. I would have liked the script to have had a little more to it with this subject, and would have shown that one can get off these drugs safely and in fact go on living a better life without them, IF an understanding doctor helps the process.
All in all, I reccommend this film because it is one of the best films that I have seen in years, and I think you'll be thanking the director with me after you watch it!!
Movie Review: Poignant, Mesmerizing Love Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Steve Martin, Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman were well cast in this sweet, quiet movie about being people searching for something, love in denial, and ultimately, love found - in more ways that people expected. I always enjoy Steve Martin - either in comedy, but almost especially in dramatic roles. Claire Danes was superb and I enjoyed her path from fragility to strength. Jason played the clown like role he was assigned very, very well and his character grew a lot. Enter Mirabelle, the shop girl who is suddenly caught up in a fascinating affair with an older, mysterious, wealthy man while rebuffing the young, comparatively crass and shallow Jeremy. The movie presents many contrasts and ultimately lessons for the viewer -- Ray and Jeremy, how Mirabelle sees herself now vis a vis her parents upon a visit home, Mirabelle and Lisa (who is a hoot), Mirabelle and Ray both in denial about the status of their relationship and their feelings for each other, and more. The whole side plot of Jeremy traveling with the band and finding himself while listening to self help tapes only to appear before Mirabelle again a changed man was missing a connecting thread (i.e., why did the band guy think he needed relationship help? we never saw them discuss this). Perhaps it was brought out more in the book. Very interesting people study -- truly enjoyable to watch the progression. I loved the ending lines, in particular, "Only then does he realize that wanting part of her and not all of her had hurt them both..." I could watch this again to pick up on the little nuances I missed.Movie Review: A candid look at the human heart
Summary: 5 Stars
What an emotional film.
Beautifully acted and directed,It takes a very close look at lonliness, heartbreak, love, and the choices we make, and what we settle for...what is IMPORTANT to us in what we look for in relationships.
Claire Daines character is Mirabelle, a young, sweet and attractive woman who works at the glove counter in Saks Fifth Avenue.
Out of lonliness (and boredom I suppose), She agrees to a date with a guy her own age, pretty immature and rough around the edges, and certainly not boyfriend material.
About the time he exits her life on a road trip with a band, Steve Martin enters the picture. He is a wealthy, distinguished older gentleman, who is captivated by her youth and beauty.
Taken by him also, she focuses all her romantic attentions on him.
Here's the catch: He only wants a sexual relationship, so going against her morals, she SETTLES.
They want different things out of the relationship, yet it continues, and we witness all the ups and downs of the relationship and also a very candid look at the depression lonliness can cause. In short; We FEEL for Claires character and only want the very best for her because she is so very naive...and vulnerable.
we witness changes in the other man (Jeremy), also.
He matures (somewhat) and we get to witness a very bittersweet conclusion.
Not quite the ending I wanted,but a realistic one anyway. We do get to see what really matters in the end. Mirabelle HAPPY, and it is enough.