The title character in Shopgirl is a tortured soul who cannot escape her thoughts, fears and anguish. Transplanted from Vermont, she has recently taken up residence in Los Angeles. Her only solace is the beautiful drawings she does while alone. They give her a sense of peace.

Working all day for little compensation, Mirabelle (Claire Danes) is chronically broke and unable to pay off her student loans or make minimum payments on her credit cards. Each day she shuffles off to her post at the glove department of the Beverly Hills Saks department store. Because the glove section is tucked inconspicuousy into a small corner of the store, nobody stops by. 

Mirabelle is stuck in this dead-end job with no way out. Will things get any better for her when millionaire Ray Porter (Steve Martin) walks in? Porter buys a pair of gloves and chats with Mirabelle at the counter, which lifts her spirits. For once, someone noticed her and spoke to her! 

Porter lies to the store manager and obtains Mirabelle's address in order to send her the gloves. When the package arrives at her rundown apartment building, she wonders why this wealthy man would be interested in her. But, of course, she agrees to meet him for dinner. After all, her dating life has hit rock bottom. Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), the one guy she knows, is too weird and immature for her. He's like a leech who will not stop trying to suck her dry. He just doesn't get it  when she refuses to call him, and he drives her crazy with answering machine messages. 

Porter gives Mirabelle extravagant gifts and pays off her student loans. Surely this must be love! But to Porter, it's not a "relationship," merely an arrangement to see one another. Mirabelle misunderstands this "arrangement." She even explains to her friend that a commitment from Porter will come soon. Meanwhile, Porter tells his friend that he and Mirabelle have agreed to see other people.

Martin, who wrote the screenplay based on his novella, is good at playing characters like himself -- reserved, seemingly detached but possessing a humorous side and also  compassionate yet hard to read. Porter comes across as a bit reserved, snooty and sophisticated. Still, you begin to like this character, and your sense of suspicion dwindles, as does Mirabelle’s.

Danes gives a fine performance in the difficult role of Mirabelle. She has to be depressed, delusional, heartbroken, smitten and emotional -- all at the same time -- in order to become the multi-layered character she portrays.

The direction by Anand Tucker is flawless. He knows how to string us along, build up to what we think will happen, and then deliver a surprising ending. Inevitably, this movie will be compared to the Oscar-nominated Lost in Translation (2003). Shopgirl hits close to home in terms of the truth about relationships that may not be real nor meant to flourish.  

(Released by Touchstone Pictures and rated "R" for sexual content and brief language.)