April 27, 2006

Shopgirl

So I rented Shopgirl last night, and while I wish I could recommend it, I can only do so half-heartedly. It's directed by Anand Tucker (this is his second feature, his first was the superb Hilary and Jackie, and his next film will be an adaptation of the first of the His Dark Materials books), with a screenplay by Steve Martin (who stars in it, and wrote the novella on which the film is based). So, there's no shortage of talent involved here, and technically the film is a stunningly beautiful achievement. The music, photography, artistic/production design, costumes, shot selection - all of that is top-tier stuff that's great. When you turn off the words it all looks beautiful and flows together in a smooth, quiet, lovely way. And actually the story itself is one most of the audience will relate to very well. It's about a relationship that involves two people who have very different understandings of what the relationship is about. But while you might know the tale, and while it's a lovely film to surround yourself in, when it comes to really being moved by the story, that's a little hard - partially because most of us know it so well, and Martin's script doesn't give us much that's new or in any way surprising. Very little goes on on-screen, and it's so subtle that there's not that much to really grab you beyond the production design. It's an unusually real story for a film - but that doesn't necessarily make it watchable.

I certainly didn't dislike the film, and technically it's a very pretty gem. But beyond admiring the skill with which it was crafted, it didn't really move me or take me anywhere I hadn't been before. It's a perfectly nice movie - but not a remarkable story.

Posted by armand at April 27, 2006 09:56 AM | TrackBack | Posted to Movies


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