The old truism that the movie is never as good as the book proves happily untrue in the case of Shopgirl. The movie captures the tender, heartfelt nature that made Steve Martin’s novella a best-seller.
Shopgirl is a love story about three solitary individuals lost in the superficial landscape of Los Angeles. Claire Danes shines as Mirabelle Buttersfield, a lonely girl who sells gloves at Saks Fifth Avenue. Jeremy, played by Jason Schwartzman, artfully provides the sole comic relief in the movie without being over the top while capturing the silliness inherent in all twenty-something males. Jeremy has no motivation, no real job and no real chance with Mirabelle, who becomes involved with Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a successful but emotionally unavailable computer programmer. Martin is not funny in the movie, but still gives a phenomenal performance.
All three characters have amazing on-screen chemistry. Each actor manages to capture the awkwardness and isolation prevalent in today’s dating world. The men have no idea what to say, and Mirabelle is a shy introvert. Each character has a believable personality, which allows for the audience to care deeply about their well-being. Mirabelle is not looking to be swept away, but for a man to put his arm around her. Ray has it all?money, women and success?but none of these fulfill his desire for the kind of connection he convinces himself he doesn’t feel with Mirabelle. Conversely, the loveable, silly Jeremy wishes that Mirabelle would just give him the time of day. Each character functions as an individual in the story, but all are united by their pain and isolation.
The novella contains only 130 pages, but the movie holds the audience’s attention for the entire time and still flows naturally. The artfully layered story is in no way sacrificed for cinematic conceits; the movie contains everything from the book, almost to a fault. The character of Lisa, who attempts to seduce Ray, seems pointless, and her role in the overall plot is unclear. Mirabelle’s trip to New Hampshire is another plotline that should have been left in the novella. The beautiful landscape of Los Angeles functions as the backdrop for this love story, and only accentuates each character’s loneliness and isolation.
The characters function in a refreshingly real world in which everything is not always okay. For once, the audience is not asked to suspend disbelief and can relate to the characters onscreen. There is no true antagonist in the story since the characters create their own problems and emotional distress. This adds to the realistic nature of the story???in life we don’t need other people to hinder us because we can do that well enough on our own.
Shopgirl is not only about love but the nature of relationships and the longing in everyone to feel something real. Shopgirl is that greatest rarity in cinema: a beautifully written novella that is beautifully translated onto the screen.
