Adapted from Steve Martin's own short story of the same name, Shopgirl is a surprisingly deep tale focusing on love, loss, rejection, understanding and eventual betterment. A love triangle, it focuses on plain-Jane Mirabelle Buttersfield (Danes), whose boring, lonely life is turned upside down when she meets two strangers who both profess an attraction for her. As both attempt to woo Mirabelle she quickly chooses the more sophisticated, wealthy Ray Porter (Martin) over the clueless and arrogant Jeremy (Schwartzman). This decision sets into being a chain of events which nicely and neatly follow along until the denoument, where Mirabelle must decide who can really satisfy her the most.
Martin, a man more known for his wacky comic persona and recent slide into total paycheck mediocrity, has written a quite beautiful little love story, and clearly was always destined to play Porter, a man whose interest in Mirabelle, though completely harmless and appreciative, is nonetheless an increasingly dispiriting and soul-destroying experience for her. Martin's occasional narration, though peculiarly jolting in its own way, strings together the three acts of the movie, acting as a crutch (if one be needed), helping the viewer to get a better glimpse of the feelings swirling around inside the three protagonists heads.
This is the crux of the film. Where most motion pictures would be explicit in hitting you over the head with the characters motivations and traits, Shopgirl shows you very little of this, preferring instead to allow a more viewer-led interpretation and understanding. No one is definitively black or white, no situation clear cut in its right or wrong. We learn little of the characters past, and no disturbing twists are forced upon us. Where Porter's wealth originated, how and why Jeremy truly decided to clear up his act, and how Mirabelle turned out to be so lonely are never really explained, or even hinted upon. They are merely three disparate souls in a city of millions, who just happen to bump into each other and adapt as a consequence.
While the film is short on excitement or your more typical romantic cliches it does a wonderful job of capturing the excitement we all feel when we fall in love unexpectedly, and how devastating it can be to have your hopes and dreams snatched away from you. Its focus on a May to September relationship is also nicely handled, as Martin plays a father figure to Danes without ever seeming creepy. While the age gap is clearly noticeable, it is never mentioned or criticized. Schwartzman, playing another one of his affably flawed character roles, is also allowed sufficient screentime to grow into a worthy challenger for Mirabelle's love, and as a result the ending is a quite beautiful, yet strangely sad affair. This is not a romantic movie in the traditional sense, yet it still offers a unique glimpse into the mystery that is love. |
