Unicorn Store is a strange take on the coming-of-age story, but instead of looking at the depth of character of its protagonist, it settles for trying to be different at the expense of its message.
Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson star in a superhero movie which...wait what? Sorry. Wrong film. *shuffles notes* Where was I? Oh yeah. Brie Larson, tremendous in the news lately because of the Captain Marvel film finds herself reunited with Samuel L. Jackson for a whimsical tale that tries to do quite a lot. The problem with this film, unlike Captain Marvel, is that it seems to miss all the good stuff and spends too much time on trying not to fit in. While there are a few stand-out performances (in particular Jackson as The Salesman and Mamoudou Athie as Virgil come to mind), the overall movie comes out a bit flat.
Kit (Larson) has come to adulthood having failed at her life pursuit of producing art. Her forever supportive parents (John Cusack and Bradley Whitford) try to ease her into the real world, but she eventually finds herself guilted into joining the real world and working in an office, despite having her heart and thoughts dominated by glitter and rainbows, and most importantly, unicorns. While she tries her hardest to enter the real world, her efforts are quickly dialed back when she encounters The Salesman (Jackson) who convinces her that she could own a unicorn, once she fulfills specific criteria. The movie progresses, but never really finds itself and leaves the watcher wondering, as the credits roll, did they actually spend ninety-two minutes on this?
There are a lot of things this particular movie gets wrong, and only a very few things it gets right. The main character portrayed by Larson isn't a proactive figure and seems to be guided along her fate by things happening to her rather than her making up her own mind. The contrast between this character and the Carol Danvers of Captain Marvel is palpable since instead of empowering women, the Kit of this movie seems like a helpless child-adult that can't seem to get the hand of 'adulting.' The second she starts getting her feet under her and realizing what the real world entails, she gets dragged back into a world that seeks to reward her daydreaming, but that the viewer never actually sees her achieve. While it is notable that the movie intends to portray uniqueness over conformity, it sacrifices both its relevance and its ability to resonate with an audience to do so. It's a lot of fluff, but no actual substance.
The characters are (for the most part) one-dimensional, and some of their motivations have you wondering what the hell they're thinking. The story is whimsical and might be entertaining if it was written for an audience of tweens, but the way that the movie approaches the topic of growing up isn't just a tangent to reality. It makes fun of anyone who identifies as the protagonist. By doing this, it diverges the viewer from Kit and makes her seem like an entity to be pitied, rather than identified with. The writing here seems to think that young adults of Kit's age are a bunch of stereotypical losers who can't get their lives in order and instead must rely on the inventions of imagination to build a life they want to live. While that may be true in some cases, it's the exception and not the rule.
Brie Larson in her debut as an actress/director fails to hit the mark. However, the gravity lent to the film by Mamoudou Athie goes a long way to rescue the casting choices. Virgil is a useful character in that he adds a leash for Kit to connect to the real world and shows us what an average person encountering Kit would be likely to think. Sadly, the script fails him as his character finds himself drawn to Kit without proper explanation and with a constricted will-they-wont-they undertone that is never really fleshed out by the conclusion of the film. Samuel L. Jackson is his usual, great self and while the character of The Salesman does come off as a bit slimy, Jackson nails it in his portrayal of shady-but-not-quite-criminal.
Where does one start with the pacing problems in this film? The initial exposition at the opening credits are by far the best-paced parts of the entire movie. There are moments in between where the viewer is just left wondering how the characters got to the point they got to. There is a long, overdone buildup with an unsatisfying conclusion. If anything this makes one dislike the film even more because instead of having something to look forward to at the end of it (no matter how improbable) we are left to 'imagine it for ourselves.' While this does speak to the film's themes of imagination, it's a rotten trick to pull on an audience that spends such a long time trudging through the slowest parts of the film.
Composition in the film could have been better, but it is what it is. There is a dedication to the aesthetic of the rainbow and the unicorn and the themes of watching Kit transform from a fun-loving, childish young-adult into a working-class office temp resonate quite strongly. The relapse of her falling back into childishness is a bit jarring, especially to audiences that expect the film to be an original coming-of-age flick. Despite the way it misdirects the viewer, the themes are consistent with the story. It is one of the most consistent things about the film and deserves mention for all the hard work done to ensure that at least one part of the movie was a delicious experience.
I can't say that this is an enjoyable film and it would be entirely against my better judgment to recommend it to anyone. It tries to tell a story, but at the same time attempts to be different while combining deep subtext with whimsical fancy. The Unicorn Store is a proper example of when a film tries to do too much and doesn't do any one particular thing very well. There is a story to be told in this movie, but it's done in a ham-handed manner. One is never really sure whether the target audience for the film is the average tween or young adult women that never truly grow into full maturity. The visuals, while striking, can't save the movie from itself. If you want a film that has a good performance by Larson and Jackson, stick to Captain Marvel.
Disclaimer : The views expressed in this article belong to the writer and are not necessarily shared by trinikid.com
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