Shopgirl

Based upon his novella, Steve Martin’s Shopgirl (2005), though directed by the talented Anand Tucker, is nonetheless a film that is thoroughly influenced by the artistic sensibilities of Martin. Like Bill Murray before him, Martin has matured from the bland comedic roles (the Cheaper by the Dozen remakes are an exception) of his past into a middle-aged man anchored by melancholy and regret. And those sensibilities allow him to craft a story that plays as part character study and part elegy for the past.

Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is a country girl from Vermont who moves out to California to pursue a bigger career with her artwork. Alas, she spends more time trying to make ends meet working at the Glove department in Saks Fifth Avenue than she does with her true passion. While fending off the amorous attention of Jeremy Kraft (Jason Schwartzman, in yet another of a long string of overly quirky but overall effective performances), a slacker who lacks motivation to do anything until Mirabelle imparts words of wisdom, Mirabelle finds herself romanced by Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a wealthy middle-aged businessman who desires passion and company over long-term commitment. Obviously, this will result in heartbreak, but the film does handle the majority of romance tropes subtly.

What makes the film work is that, rather than simply being about love absolute, this film starts to identify characteristics of psychological damage as the true motivations for the characters’ search for love and tenderness. Mirabelle is using anti-depressants to ward off her darker tendencies; Jeremy is using attraction to try to get to a more complete persona, and Ray is using Mirabelle to combat his loneliness, rewarding her with gifts that dance precariously around the issue of her (essentially prostituted) love. Yet the disparate ideas between paternal affection that he shows her, coupled with the distance that he maintains emotionally, forces the point that Martin as writer wants to drive home: that relationships cannot last if one of the partners holds him or herself back in any way. As a result, the stunted emotions that Ray cannot bring himself to verbalize around Mirabelle will ultimately doom their chances.

Shopgirl is sophisticatedly sexy throughout, maintains a gentle pacing throughout that matches its artistic sensibilities (check out the exaggerated lighting in Mirabelle’s room for the film’s artsiness), and is simply a tender character study. Not quite perfect in its balance between drama and humor, but it’s damn good throughout.

Shopgirl: 7.5/10