_Bump-
So the reviews are starting to come in and it has a 69 MetaCritic score (better than North Country
).
I'll keep the reviews limited tow hat they have to say aobut Danes, since I think tha'ts the film's only chance at this point anyway).
New York Times: "Ms. Danes, whose performance is flawless, is certainly lovely enough to invite such admiration, but she does not go out of her way to solicit it. The movie's conceit depends upon our ability to believe that Mirabelle, who moved to California from Vermont, is lonely and overlooked - not quite an ugly duckling, but someone whose diffident, melancholy temperament might render her invisible in a world more interested in flashy display."
Rolling Stone: Danes, on a roll with Stage Beauty, Igby Goes Down and the upcoming Family Stone, gives her best performance yet. It's through her that Ray's character is truly defined. He doesn't see what he's missing by keeping Mirabelle at a distance, but we do in the light of Danes' luminosity and spirit
James Berardinelli : Claire Danes, after disappearing for several years, has returned as an adult actress. Following Stage Beauty, this is the second straight movie in which she has agreed to a nude scene (it's tastefully done - an artistic rear shot). She doesn't have great range, but, when cast in a role that doesn't demand too much stretching, she can be effective. Mirabelle is that kind of part.
New York Magazine : Danes gives a marvelously quiet, poignant performance.
Hollywood Reporter:
Displaying some fine performances -- including a lovely one by Claire Danes and a lively one by Jason Schwartzman -- the elegantly appointed Shopgirl certainly has the goods but it ultimately fails to make the sale.
The Onion: With her lithe frame and wonderfully expressive face and body language, Danes excels in conveying that sad, slightly desperate vulnerability non-verbally rather than through her spare dialogue. Her performance's fragile openness stands in poignant contrast to Martin's closed-off nature, which gives the film a beguiling, pervasive melancholy.
LA Weekly: As the object of his attention, if not his affection, Danes gives a remarkable performance as a young woman struggling to tap into her own resources
Entertainment Weekly: She (Danes) gives off a lunar glow  part moonlit, part living-dead.)
Villgage Voice: Danes's performance is as bright and tender as a new bruise
Variety: But [Martin] cannot entirely avoid being overshadowed by Dane's endearingly vulnerable, emotionally multifaceted and fearlessly open performance.
Los Angeles Times : Shifting the movie's point of view to Danes helps quite a bit. Danes can fill a scene with one wounded glance, and her body language alone conveys a richness of character that makes an otherwise not very expressive character mesmerizing. She also does something interesting with Mirabelle's passivity she plays it as quasi-mute, awestruck intimidation that speaks volumes.
