Shopgirl

  

"Shopgirl" is, above all, a film that surprises. It surprises because of its subtlety, of the simplicity with which it penetrates into the story without resorting to heavy intellectual dialogue and deep characters.

Surprising, especially because it moves without falling into the cliché of any melodrama. It's a simple story, well told, much more like the style of "Lost in Translation", it takes the risk to show patiently one or more love stories.

Steve Martin's novel, adapted for the screen, is the story of Buttersfield Mirabelle, a lonely saleswoman in Los Angeles, who must choose between a young artist, messy and almost obnoxious, Jason Schwartzman  (perfect for the role of the boring computer millionaire expert) and Steve Martin , who surprisingly impersonates Ray Porter so naturally.

None of the characters is especially nice, lucid or attractive. It would be really hard to identify ourselves with any of them, understand them, accompany them throughout history, if not for the honesty with which each of them is presented from the beginning. And those voice-overs, which appear again and again playing fragments from the novel, as a Greek chorus, are making it clear that the characters have no choice other than the one chosen, but that decisions, though inevitable, are always painful.

Not easy to find movies that rather than seeking dramatic devices that both support and develop a more interesting plot, engage in the subtle nuances to show any love story. There are no happy endings or sad ones in "Shopgirl." All that remains is the feeling of those who have been able to step into the shoes of these strange characters and understand their grief.

Director: Anand Tucker

Writers: Steve Martin (novel), Steve Martin (screenplay)

Stars: Steve Martin, Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman