In adapting his popular novella to the big screen, Steve Martin chooses director Anand Tucker (HILARY AND JACKIE), whose artful eye (along with the film's stunning costumes, dramatic score, and brilliant set design) brings the book's detailed characters beautifully to life. Recalling her breakout role of analytical Angela Chase on MY SO-CALLED LIFE, a luminously brunette Claire Danes plays Mirabelle Buttersfield, a serious young woman (and aspiring artist) from Vermont who has moved to Los Angeles with hopes that, out on the West Coast, her life will finally begin. But Mirabelle's job at the r... arely visited glove department of Saks Fifth Avenue and her naturally reserved demeanour make it hard for her to find genuine connections in a place as isolating as L.A. It's with a mixture of her need for human interaction and her lowered expectations that Mirabelle reluctantly accepts the awkward advances of Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), a clueless but kind slob she meets at a Laundromat. The opposite of romantic, Jeremy's initial attempts at wooing hardly cure Mirabelle of her loneliness, so when wealthy older man Ray Porter (Martin) asks Mirabelle out with grace and style, she agrees.What follows is a touching look at the disappointment, confusion, and heartbreak that accompanies unreciprocated love, with Martin's script showing particular insight into the experiences of its young female protagonist. In the end, the couple's age difference is of little importance, as the film's main intention is give Mirabelle some omniscient guidance (via Martin's voiceovers) in a time of growth. Through it all, she (like the film) counters reality with the knowledge (and hope) that true love can change everything. While chemically prone to depression, Mirabelle is also a dreamer, with the strong belief that things could be truly wonderful, if only they'd fall into place.
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thinking person's romance though slow in bits
I am a Steve Martin fan, and read his novella before I saw the film adaptation. Martin plays the wealthy and jaded older man who meets and pursues a naive dreamy young woman working in the glove dept. of a department store. He opens up a world of comfort to her and helps in her own journey forward. She gives him herself but in the end, he only really offers her what money can buy. The cinematography was interesting and added to the dreamlike quality of the characters. A well crafted film, but perhpas slow in places. I can see that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed it.
A serene luminescence surrounds Claire Danes in Shopgirl. A glowing halo practically caresses her lithe body in this minor-key romance about a lovely yet lonely Saks clerk, an aspiring artist named Mirabelle who is torn between polar-opposite suitors.
Dressed in breathtaking vintage ensembles while displaying a heart-crushing vulnerability, the 26-year-old actress - reduced of late to action drivel (Terminator 3) or bit roles (The Hours) - finally fulfills the potent promise of her mid-'90s TV series My So-Called Life.
Los Angeles doesn't look half-bad, either. When director Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie) isn't training his camera on the jewe...
A Must for Steve Martin Fans
Steve Martin's career has never courted mainstream publicity, and this film is no exception. A charming love story, this is essential viewing for hopeless romantics who know that love, like the plot of this film, is anything but predictable. Top rank perfomances from the three leads underline a finely woven plot. A film to surprise and delight you if you let it.
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Never knew Steve Martin could create a story like this. I will no longer look at him as just a silly man he actually has some depth thought it was a great movie. Happy with ending. Also has some funny parts. 5/5
4/5
