Film Review - Unicorn Store (2019)

Unicorn Store is a new Netflix movie that is directed by and stars Brie Larson as Kit, a young girl who wanted to be an artist but is now working as a temp in an office building until she gets a letter in the mail from a mysterious store owner (Samuel L Jackson) who claims he can help her get a unicorn provided she performs a few tasks first.

Unicorn Store is well made and performed and Ms Larson more than equips herself in both roles, as a performer she finds both the joy of Kit as well as the pain that she lives with and as a director she finds a good rhythm to the pacing and editing and doesn’t let the overall storytelling overstay its welcome plus there are times where I felt she made good use of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Plus there are some other good performances as well, Mr Jackson is fine even though for the most part I felt like I was watching Samuel L Jackson walk around with streaks of foil in his hair while Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack are quite good as Kit’s parents and I most certainly enjoyed seeing Ms Cusack in a movie again, it feels like its been an eternity since she was last on screen.

But this movie’s script has some big tonal issues and those issues really hold this film back in a major way as on the one hand it wants to be this serious look at a young girl who might have some mental health issues and is trying to find her place in the world in terms of doing what she loves while also trying to find something that can help her to earn the money so she can support herself and have a comfortable enough life but at the same time it goes on these flights of fancy with unicorns and sparkles and endless amounts of glitter.

And both of these elements on their own if they were given the space to breathe is fine but when mushed together like colours on a artist board I could see the clash of tones at times but then again maybe in the hands of a more seasoned director who has found their feet in the chair might have been able to figure this out to make it one film and make it work but I give Ms Larson props for trying this right off the bat at least even if she doesn’t quite get there in the long run.

And so that was Unicorn Store and it’s a fine enough film to watch with good work from Ms Larson both in front of and behind the camera but the script struggles with some tonal issues, 2 and a half out of 5.