Personal Shopper

Personal Shopper is a 2016 supernatural psychological thriller film written and directed by Olivier Assayas. The film stars Kristen Stewart as a young American woman in Paris who works as a personal shopper for a celebrity and tries to communicate with her deceased twin brother. An international co-production between Belgium, Czech Republic, France and Germany, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, Assayas shared the Best Director Award with Cristian Mungiu, who directed Graduation. The film was released on 14 December 2016 in France and 10 March 2017 in the United States. It received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise for Stewart's performance. Plot Maureen Cartwright is a personal shopper in Paris for Kyra Gellman, a supermodel. Maureen is waiting for her twin brother, Lewis, who recently died of a genetic heart condition, to fulfill their pact to send a signal from the afterlife. She stays overnight at Lewis's house in hopes of receiving a sign and briefly encounters a spiritual presence. Lewis's girlfriend, Lara, goes with Maureen to meet a couple acquainted with Lewis who are interested in buying the house. The wife mentions the artist Hilma af Klint, whose paintings were inspired by messages from the spirit world. Later, Maureen video chats with her boyfriend, Gary, a contractor in Muscat, Oman, who encourages her to visit him, which she turns down. The next day, at Kyra's apartment, Maureen meets Ingo, a magazine editor and Kyra's lover. He tells Maureen that Kyra is planning to break up with him out of fear her husband will discover their relationship. Maureen returns to Lewis's house and is disturbed by the bathroom's faucets turning on. After inspecting the house, she finds her drawings have been violently scratched out, and is terrorized by a malefic female specter.