The Model Shop (1969)

53% of users liked it
(202 ratings)

George (Gary Lockwood) is a disillusioned 26-year-old who has just quit his stifling job. He lives in Los Angeles with an aspiring young actress named Gloria (Alexandra Hay), who is none too pleased with his recent unemployment. Hanging over his head is the constant threat of repossession of his car… More George (Gary Lockwood) is a disillusioned 26-year-old who has just quit his stifling job. He lives in Los Angeles with an aspiring young actress named Gloria (Alexandra Hay), who is none too pleased with his recent unemployment. Hanging over his head is the constant threat of repossession of his car and the virtual certainty that he will be drafted into the army. He sees a beautiful woman in a big car and follows her to her home in the Hollywood hills. A rock-star friend loans him money for a car and he follows the mystery woman to a photography shop. Lola (Anouk Aimée) is an older French model who poses for photographs to pay the bills. After he takes pictures of her, he begins to fall in love with the woman. Gloria discovers the pictures and throws George out of the house. He returns to the model and the two have conversation over drinks before ending up in bed together. Lola wishes to return home to be with her young son and is reluctant to get involved in a relationship. George's relationship with Gloria ends when she leaves him over her failure to understand his motivations. He resigns himself to the fact he will be drafted and probably end up dead in a Vietnam rice paddy in this story of a young man in search of the greater meaning of life. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Jacques Demy
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1968 Wide
On DVD: Sep 8, 2009

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A brilliant bitter-sweet understated look at life in America during the Viet Nam War.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Eric B

See Flixster's plot synopsis? It pretty much covers the whole film. That one sentence is practically a "spoiler." "Model Shop" (no "The" in front) is one of those self-consciously flat, empty films where nothing much happens and the dominant… More
See Flixster's plot synopsis? It pretty much covers the whole film. That one sentence is practically a "spoiler." "Model Shop" (no "The" in front) is one of those self-consciously flat, empty films where nothing much happens and the dominant characters all seem blank, vacant and aimless. For reference points, think Antonioni, "Five Easy Pieces" (a far superior film) and, more recently, perhaps "Lost in Translation." Lead actor Gary Lockwood (who also appeared in "2001: A Space Odyssey" the same year) gives a fairly dull performance, even if he's *supposed* to be dull, and one learns frustratingly little about his inner life or why he sabotages himself with poor decisions. The film has none of the sparkling, cinematic magic found in more fanciful Demy works like "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" and "Donkey Skin" and, really, the best reason to sit through the (lack of) action is probably the realistic look at everyday, late-'60s Los Angeles as Lockwood's character drives around the sunny haze of the city. Respected L.A. rock band Spirit recorded some nice bits of jazzy score for the film, and briefly appear in one scene as themselves. One member (keyboardist John Locke?) even tries some acting in a short scene with Lockwood. Thankfully, the script never sinks into the dated "Far out, man...I need bread to buy some grass"-type dialogue which one might expect from a "Hollywood youth in the '60s" flick. This is *not* a story about hippies -- the protagonist is educated and relatively clean-cut, and aims to be an architect someday. Favorite comic detail: The unmentioned agony of the main couple living directly next to a noisy oil rig.
Walter M

"The Model Shop" starts with George(Gary Lockwood) and Gloria(Alexandra Hay) being rudely awakened by a knock on the door from a repo man wanting to repossess his car. George stalls long enough to get an extension through the end of business but his girlfriend has seen… More
"The Model Shop" starts with George(Gary Lockwood) and Gloria(Alexandra Hay) being rudely awakened by a knock on the door from a repo man wanting to repossess his car. George stalls long enough to get an extension through the end of business but his girlfriend has seen enough, wanting a commitment and him to get a job. An architect by trade, he quit his lob in search of something meaningful to do with his life which is not that easy. On the other hand, finding the $100 necessary to keep his car is not that difficult, giving him enough time to follow an older woman(Anouk Aimee). While "The Model Shop" may have the flattest line readings on record, it still stands on its own as a curio from a different time. Viewing Los Angeles from an outsider's perspective, writer-director Jacques Demy sees an automobile culture, each car being a status item with George not being able to afford his. That does not really matter much with the draft hanging over him, not allowing him much thought for the future. Come to think of it, we're not really interested in his future; it is Lola's, continuing her story from a previous film of Demy's.