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'Shopgirl' sells compelling story

No matter how much he tries to hide behind his screen image as a "wild and crazy guy," Steve Martin just cannot deny those glimmers of depth and insights on the human heart that occasionally peek through.

Shopgirl, the sober flip side of his satirical L.A. Story, takes a darker look at the odds against romance in the City of Angels. Although adapted by Martin from his own novella and tailored into a starring vehicle for him, this meditation on the unlikelihood of love is anything but a comedy. Still, stick with it. It is a rare, mature look at relationships from a studio picture uninterested in pandering to its audience with a standard gooey resolution.

Touchstone Pictures 'Shopgirl' B+ The verdict: A downbeat, yet compelling tale of loveless L.A., by and with a dramatic Steve Martin. Director: Anand Tucker Starring: Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Martin, Frances Conroy, Sam Bottoms Run time: 104 minutes Release date: Oct. 21, 2005 Rating: R for some sexual content and brief language. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Martin may be the box office draw, but the film belongs to the remarkable Claire Danes. The deft, waifish actress can look alternately ravishing or plain and does so as the improbably named Mirabelle Buttersfield, a transplanted Vermont lass, lost and lonely in La-la-land.

As Martin stacks the deck against her, her options are whittled down to two: a wealthy, impeccably mannered and groomed older man, Ray Porter (Martin), who showers her with gifts but whose interest in her is strictly sexual, or a socially inept clod named Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), who is more age-appropriate and hopelessly in love with her.

Although she has the soul of an artist, Mirabelle pays her rent by working the glove counter at the Beverly Hills Saks store, a job as lonely as the rest of her life. That is where Ray spots her, swoops down and begins lavishly wooing her. It might be a storybook romance, if Ray did not keep the entire world at arm's length. Still, despite his warnings, Mirabelle begins convincing herself that love is beginning to grow between them.

Ray is everything Jeremy is not, and Schwartzman is comically convincing as the perpetually broke amplifier salesman with an innate ability to say the wrong thing in all situations. It is a measure of Mirabelle's emotional neediness that she keeps allowing Jeremy back into her life.

Martin's narration gives the film a real-world fable quality and the direction by Anand Tucker (Hilary and Jackie) is icy cool with occasional pull-backs to place the story in cosmic context. It adds up to a feeling of unease, exactly as Martin intends.

Shopgirl is not a particularly likable tale, but there is no denying the naked honesty of Danes' performance. And though he is unlikely to make it a regular habit, Martin shows that he has the chops to become a fine dramatic actor.