I didn't really know what to expect going into Brie Larson's directorial debut, 'Unicorn Store' (2017). I had seen a trailer for the film, but it hadn't stuck with me, at least on a narrative level. What I did remember from the trailer was the look and production design. It really caught my attention and was the major selling point for me. Well, the production design along with the fact that it starred Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, two actors whose work I really enjoy and whose chemistry I enjoyed earlier this year in 'Captain Marvel' (2019), were good enough selling points for me to watch the film. It has been a long wait for the film to get a wide distribution, having initially premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, but it has finally been released after Netflix picked up the distribution rights. So, was it worth the wait? I would say yes, even if it is a flawed film. The story follows Kit (Brie Larson), a failed art student with childish sentimentalities and a whimsical outlook on life. Feeling like a failure, she takes a mundane office job at a vacuum cleaner firm and tries to act more adult. But when she receives a letter from The Salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) inviting her to the titular Unicorn Store and promising her a Unicorn of her own if she can prove she is worthy, her whimsical and childlike nature comes back, and she sets about proving herself suitable to own a Unicorn all while keeping it a secret from her parents, her work and her friend, Virgil (Mamoudou Athi).
As a first stab at directing I think Brie Larson does a pretty solid job. It is never really complex in its shooting style, nor is it outside the box, but I think this is to be expected from an inexperienced director and overall I think it is technically sound. There were a couple moments of editing at the very beginning of the film which were a bit shoddy and quite jarring which had me worried for the remainder of the film, but these moments were outliers. As I had hoped after seeing the trailer I did really enjoy the production design of this film. There is a nice contrast between the production design of the office environment and the Unicorn Store are completely opposite, wit the former being very bland and filled with a lot of grey and white, and the latter being filled with colour and lit in a warmer way. It is not complicated production design and is a bit obvious, but it works and is done well. There is one scene in particular, where Kit has a presentation at work, where the production design is a lot of fun and really adds to an already fun scene. One of the main problems with this film though is that it is very much style over substance. The narrative as a whole is quite simple and the major through-line is executed well, but its the relationships and character building within that narrative where it suffers and is at its weakest. This does lead to sympathies for the characters not being as strong as you would hope and the emotional moments in the film having less of an impact. You aren't really given to much of a reason to get invested in these characters, mainly because their development and the development of their relationships with others seems rushed. This also leads to reactions from characters which seem off or out of the blue and its because the character development is weak. But, one thing that made me almost forget these narrative flaws while watching was how funny I found the film. It has a sense of comedy which I don't think is going to be for everyone, as it is quite quirky and awkward, but I personally really enjoyed it and had several laugh out loud moments. These moments of comedy would not be as funny without good performances behind them, however, and this film has the performances to back these comedic moments up.
If I am mentioning performances which add to the comedy of the film I have to go initially to the character who made me laugh the most and that was Kit's boss, Gary (Hamish Linklater). This character is a creep who is effectively using his position to weirdly hit on Kit, but the ways in which he does it is where the comedy comes from. He is not a swooner, nor does he have any sense of charm. He is wooden and stilted and every emotion he emotes seems understated. What I have just described could be seen as a bad performance, but this is the opposite as this type of performance worked well with the character. Linklater is brilliantly funny, with his reactions to all situations being cringe inducing and always getting, at the minimum, a chuckle. Both Joan Cusack and Bradley Whitford are funny as Kit's parents, Gladys and Gene respectively, but these two characters are the ones who suffer most from the poor character building and this does hamper their performances a little bit. Samuel L. Jackson is playing Samuel L. Jackson. It is hard for him to do anything else these days. He has become a brand in and of himself and so it is hard to ever see a character underneath the person. Fortunately, I really like Samuel L. Jackson and I enjoyed his performance, as he plays a cheery and whack ball salesman who you are often questioning if he actually exists or not. Mamoudou Athie as Virgil has the most grounded performance in the film. He is the yin to Kit's yang if you will. He is grounded and sceptical of what it is he is helping Kit with, but he continues to do so and becomes a bit more whimsical as a result. It is a good performance, not exceptional but not bad, and his chemistry with Brie Larson is believable. And then we have Brie Larson herself, who I just love to watch on screen. Her character is quirky, awkward and very much odd-ball and she portrays this brilliantly. After Hamish Linklater she has the most laughs and she gets these laughs from her brilliant facial expressions, reactions and line delivery. It is a joy to watch her in the film and she is just endlessly charming, as she usually is. She keeps raising up my ranks with every film I see her in and this was no exception, she was that much fun to watch.
'Unicorn Store' is a film that is not going to be for everyone. It is very much a flawed film, with poor character building and some confusing and jarring interactions and relationships between the characters which make the film feel rushed. It is also very much a style over substance film, and if you do not enjoy the whimsical and quirky style of the film you are not going to find much enjoyment in it. As for myself I did really enjoy it. Despite its flaws I had a really good time with it, especially with the performances of Brie Larson and Hamish Linklater who were very entertaining. As a film critic it is hard to give the film a glowing recommendation because the flaws are so evident, but as a general film goer I would definitely recommend it because it is that much fun. But I will stick a caveat on that recommendation, and leave you knowing that this is an odd-ball and quirky film which is not going to be for everyone. As for myself I bought into the quirk and awkward nature, and I had a very good time with it.