Stewart has worked tirelessly in recent years to put the Twilight franchise behind her, and in doing so has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most adventurous A-listers when it comes to choosing roles. Her second collaboration with French auteur Olivier Assayas is her riskiest and most thrillingly strange project to date. She stars as Maureen, whose job as an assistant to a monstrous ageing supermodel forces her to lurk meekly at the peripheries of the Paris fashion scene. But by night she’s a medium, determined to make contact with the ghost of her late twin brother. Shades of Nicolas Roeg and Roman Polanski abound in this slippery supernatural psychodrama. Its wilful obliqueness proved divisive at Cannes last year, and make it a tricky film to recommend unreservedly. But whether you’re seduced by its otherworldly ambience or not, Assayas leaves you with plenty to ponder – most strikingly the parallel he draws between Maureen’s attempts to communicate with the dead, and the isolating effects of modern technology. Just be forewarned that what it all might ultimately mean is left squarely for you to figure out for yourself.
Personal Shopper | Directed by Olivier Assayas (France 2016) with Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger. Starts January 19
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