Before being the most powerful superhero in the galaxy, Brie Larson produced and directed a film far removed from the pompous Marvel industry, rather indie we would say. Unicorn store premiered at the Toronto Festival in 2017, but it just comes to us this year from Netflix, and it's Larson's debut as a director. And although the script is not the best, its direction is promising.
He had already demonstrated his talent as an actress in Room (2015) and had conquered our hearts as Captain Marvel in the movie of the same name and also in Endgame. In Unicorn Store, Larson shows us again that it is not just a "pretty face", it is a touching, ductile actress, which we do not want to stop looking at the screen. In this case, her role is that of a young woman, Kit, who feels “failed” for not being able to succeed in the art world and must return to live with her parents (Joan Cusack as Gladys and Bradley Whitford as Gene). Kit has no friends, talks to her stuffed animals, loves pastel colors, dresses "weird", likes glitter and, of course, unicorns. All the time on the borderline between "being special" and having some kind of disorder, Kit is tremendously childish and creative, and has serious difficulties adapting to the adult world. Everything changes when you receive strange invitations that take you to the famous store, where a funny Samuel L. Jackson will want to sell you a unicorn, and when he gets a part-time job at an advertising agency.
There is the clash between two worlds that this movie needs to be told. Kit must manage to keep her job and even gain access to a better position while trying to become deserving of the unicorn, a being who will be her best friend for a lifetime and will love her unconditionally. Then he learns to take photocopies and build a stable, or make a presentation for a campaign and attend a camp with his parents to create a loving environment for the mythical creature. It is curious that the film is told in such a way that we almost do not doubt that the unicorn is true, perhaps the absolute focus on the character of Kit produces this effect. The world of work on the other hand is hostile and strange; A stalking boss (Hamish Linklater), a competing secretary and the futility of everything that surrounds the world of offices make us fully focus on waiting for the unicorn. In that course, Kit meets Virgil (Mamoudou Athie), a hardware store employee who is lovingly interested in Kit and ends up helping her buy hay, build the barn, etc., without knowing specifically what the matter is about.
The film tries to achieve the tone of Wes Anderson's films at times (in the photograph) or of films like Little Miss Sunshine or Submarine, indie jewels. It pretends to show us rare ties - nothing sinister, but particular - non-stereotyped, unique characters. But, in my humble opinion, he hardly succeeds, except for a few moments. The course of the unicorn does not allow to make Kit a complex character, who, yes, is a young woman of almost thirty years convinced that she will have a unicorn because she feels lonely since she is special and speaks with her affectionate bears, but does not become A memorable character. In this sense, the end seemed quite disappointing and unprepared. And too mainstream.
The film left me a little taste, an effect similar to that of glitter when it dries and dulls. However, it entertains. It is short, lasts only 92 minutes, and has a pleasant and effective soundtrack. It is a worthy debut despite everything. The performances are good although the characters and their links do not stop surprising. You have to manage expectations, if we expect from Unicorn Store a fabulous creature, we will have to look elsewhere.