---
title: "Personal Shopper: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/personal-shopper/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/personal-shopper"
critics_score: 69
critics_reviews: 25
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Personal Shopper (2016): what the critics said

Critics' score 69 from 25 reviews: 17 positive, 5 mixed, 3 negative.

Most critics like Olivier Assayas’s second film with Kristen Stewart, and admirers and doubters alike put Stewart at the centre of the case. Her performance as Maureen, a grieving personal shopper and medium, is called magnetic, fidgety and naturalistic, and several reviews describe the film as close to a one-woman show. Praise clusters on the text-message sequences, which many single out as the film’s most frightening stretch, turning a phone screen into a source of dread.

The reservations concern shape. A sizeable minority find the ghost story, thriller, grief drama and fashion satire never fuse, with loose ends and an ending that leaves people perplexed, and some feel Assayas withholds too much. The spread is wide, from full marks at The Telegraph to The Hollywood Reporter dismissing it as empty hokum and Eye for Film arguing the text exchanges kill the tension rather than build it. The harshest notices come from Cannes; the reviews on release are warmer.

## The Telegraph

Rating 5/5. 16 March 2017. 

The review calls it a nerve-jangling ghost mystery in which Kristen Stewart transfixes as the psychic personal shopper, commending the film's fluency, poise, and spellbinding central performance in its second collaboration with Assayas.

[Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/personal-shopper-review-kristen-stewart-transfixes-nerve-jangling/)

## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 March 2017. 

The critic calls it a gripping portrait of solitude and a hell of a one-woman show for Stewart, praising its portrayal of grief and modern anxieties. The iPhone sequences are singled out as a brilliantly sustained Hitchcockian centerpiece turning technology into dread.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-personal-shopper-review-20170309-story.html)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 March 2017. 

The critic praises the film as a stylish, mysterious ghost story and character study held together by Kristen Stewart's outstanding, naturalistic performance as a haunted personal shopper and medium. They highlight its uncanny ambiguity, poignant exploration of grief and loneliness, and standout sequences involving texts and couture.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/16/personal-shopper-review-kristen-stewart-olivier-assayas)

## Time Out — Guy Lodge

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2016. Festival review. 

Kristen Stewart delivers a galvanising performance in Assayas's bewitching, unconventional ghost story set in Paris. The film thrives on shifting ambiguities and Stewart's quizzical presence as a haunted personal shopper.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/personal-shopper)

## Little White Lies — Manuela Lazic

Rating 4/4/4. 14 March 2017. 

Kristen Stewart excels in this strange, surprising and occasionally sublime film, projecting anguish and ambiguity with unmatched skill. Assayas builds a multi-faceted character around grief and spirituality but occasionally veers into the ridiculous with its tech-mysticism interplay.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/personal-shopper)

## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 March 2017. 

The critic finds the film a weird but effective amalgam of ghost story, thriller and identity search that works despite its oddities. Kristen Stewart's fidgety, bereft performance provides proof of life amid the supernatural elements.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/20/personal-shopper-and-frantz)

## Evening Standard — David Sexton

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 June 2016. Festival review. 

Assayas's arty cocktail of haunted house and psychological drama leaves open whether events are real or imagined, but Kristen Stewart is highly watchable in the lead.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-2016-personal-shopper-film-review-kristen-stewart-returns-to-the-twilight-zone-a3249811.html)

## Sight and Sound — Nick James

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2016. Festival review. 

The review praises Kristen Stewart's enigmatic, magnetically watchable performance as the grieving medium Maureen. It highlights Assayas's straightforward handling of ghostly elements and the tension-building SMS sequences as effective explorations of grief.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/personal-shopper-first-look)

## Slant Magazine

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2016. Festival review. 

The critic praises Assayas's film as the better of two at Cannes for its shock of the strange and Stewart's virtuosic performance that projects strength masking vulnerability.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/cannes-film-review-personal-shopper-and-julieta/)

## Empire — Olly Richards

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 March 2017. 

The film is a peculiar muddle that doesn't entirely work as a ghost story or thriller, with loose ends and uneven scares, but it excels as an atmospheric character piece.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/personal-shopper-review/)

## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo

Rating B-. 17 May 2016. Festival review. 

The critic calls it a must-see for its singular vision and genuinely frightening effects but notes it never fuses its ideas into a satisfying whole, making it underwhelming overall.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/a-singular-kristen-stewart-ghost-story-joins-the-booed-1798247318)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Rating Critic's Pick. 9 March 2017. 

The critic praises the film as a raw study in grief that is also a supernatural thriller and inquiry into modern life. Kristen Stewart's self-enclosed detachment is highlighted as a peculiar form of intensity.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/09/movies/personal-shopper-review-kristen-stewart.html)

## Vulture

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 10 March 2017. 

The critic loves nearly all of the maddeningly elusive mood piece for its beauty and Stewart's performance but finds it unsatisfying due to the director's arty withholding and failure to deliver on genre elements.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/movie-review-personal-shopper.html)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2016. Festival review. 

Stewart's committed performance holds together this odd hybrid of ghost story, thriller and satire about a young woman's search for closure after her twin's death. The film lacks the style and verve of comparable genre works and received downbeat notices at Cannes.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/personal-shopper-cannes-review/5104074.article)

## Variety

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2016. Festival review. 

The review describes a broken but never boring mix of horror, workplace drama and identity search that is likely to divide audiences. It notes the unconventional study of spiritual crisis and the director's bold reunion with Stewart.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/personal-shopper-review-kristen-stewart-1201775572/)

## The Times — Ed Potton

Rating ★★☆☆☆. 17 March 2017. 

The critic finds the arthouse fashion horror unusual and unsettling but not as clever as it thinks it is, noting its aimless quality and Stewart's mopey performance amid long wordless scenes.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/personal-shopper-l2dphsns8)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2016. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film an aggravatingly empty would-be suspense piece that even Kristen Stewart cannot elevate, calling it spooky hokum from start to finish.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/personal-shopper-cannes-review-894616/)

## Collider — Brian Formo

Rating A-. 9 March 2017. 

The critic finds Kristen Stewart brilliant in her near-solo performance as a grieving medium and calls the film a divisive but ultimately rewarding exploration of communication failures. It singles out the extended text-message sequences for capturing the anxiety and isolation of modern digital interactions.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/kristen-stewart-personal-shopper-review/)

## Den of Geek — Ryan Lambie

Rating 4/5. 17 March 2017. 

The film builds unrelenting tension through its mix of supernatural and thriller elements rather than relying on jump scares. Kristen Stewart delivers a compelling, introspective lead performance as a character navigating grief and modern isolation.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/personal-shopper-review/)

## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 2017. 

The critic calls the film a perfect modern ghost story that blends supernatural elements with themes of contact and self-identity, praising Assayas for welding the strands into a challenging whole. It singles out Kristen Stewart’s magnetic, physical performance and the way the film captures fleeting presences in the digital and spectral worlds.

[Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/03/13/movies/personal-shopper-film-review-60d3f4a27c05)

## The Skinny — Ben Nicholson

Rating 4/5. 13 October 2016. Festival review. 

Assayas crafts an unsettling modern ghost story that explores grief, identity, and technological disconnection through effective use of text-message tension. Kristen Stewart gives a career-best performance as the isolated protagonist.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/uk-festivals/film/personal-shopper-kristen-stewart)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 March 2017. 

The critic finds the film a captivating arthouse thriller that keeps audiences engaged with its enigmatic storytelling. Assayas is singled out for skillfully incorporating modern technology like text messages into the narrative tension.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/personal-shopper-review-kristen-stewart-olivier-assayas/)

## The Playlist — Jessica Kiang

Rating C+. 16 May 2016. Festival review. 

The film is a messy, deeply unsatisfying jumble of ghost story, grief drama, murder mystery and fashion satire that only occasionally clicks in overlapping moments. It is peculiarly watchable moment-to-moment thanks to Stewart's charisma and some evocative sequences, but the strands never cohere and the ending leaves viewers perplexed.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/cannes-review-olivier-assayas-personal-shopper-kristen-stewart-messy-unsatisfying-20160516/)

## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 18 May 2016. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film an intriguing but uneven supernatural drama that is sometimes daft and occasionally terrifying. Stewart carries the film with a strong performance conveying grief and fear, and the text-message thriller sequences are its strongest element, though some scenes and dialogue fall flat.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/personal-shopper-review/)

## Eye for Film — Richard Mowe

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 May 2016. Festival review. 

The critic argues that Stewart cannot make her isolated, grief-stricken character come alive and that prolonged on-screen text exchanges kill any tension or interest. The film promises much with its ghost story and fashion-world backdrop but ultimately fails to deliver due to thin backstory and unengaging execution.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/personal-shopper-2016-film-review-by-richard-mowe)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/personal-shopper.md