Netflix’sUnicorn Storeanticipates its detractors from the start. In the same way that protagonist Kit (Brie Larson) begins the film by painting a self-portrait with a glitter-blasted deluge of color,Unicorn Storeplainly shows viewers what it is and what it wants to prove. On the surface, its message is that everyone needs whimsy in their lives, no matter how grown up they are. However, Larson’s directorial debut is, just like Kit, deceptively simple. There is a psychological iceberg just below water level.Unicorn Storeproves that the path to happiness is found by embracing one’s authentic self, and it does so by unapologetically embracing Kit’s signature whimsy.
The process Kit must undergo to adopt her unicorn is designed to set her on the path to self-acceptance. After flunking out of art school, Kit convinces herself she must submit to what she fears the rest of the world expects of her. She takes a temp job at a PR agency and sees that her co-workers are desperate for the kind of excitement and color with which Kit wants to paint her life. It’s under these two conflicting paradigms that Kit begins taking her assignments from The Salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) to prove she is ready to care for a unicorn. Kit struggles with the inherent paradox of proving she can be a serious adult while also being the kind of person who wants a pet unicorn.
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If the tone of the film did not match Kit’s bubbly energy, this juxtaposition of Kit with the world around her would surely come off as mockingly disingenuous. Larson and writerSamantha McIntyretake great care to regard Kit with the respect she deserves as a woman who uncompromisingly seeks personal joy. To sell Kit as a believable heroine, her film must stand resolutely with her, andUnicorn Storedoes not shy away from the carefree whimsy she finds beautiful. Her wardrobe is gaudy yet not ostentatious, her affectations quirky yet not irksome, and her journey innocent yet not childish. Why should Kit need to give up the things that make her smile just to be taken seriously? Why can’t she throw glitter and rainbows on a good business pitch? Why can’t she have a real life pet unicorn?
Kit isn’t simply a manic twee girl on a quest to find love, from a unicorn or otherwise - and yes, there is a real unicorn in this film. Her inner need to reconcile her desire for authenticity with her desire for approval from others is what drives the film. The film’s tone authentically reflects Kit to get the audience on her side. On the other hand, the way in which this tone is used is just as important as when it is not used at all.Unicorn Storemomentarily abandons whimsy to hold a mirror up to viewers who may find Kit gratingly credulous. Kit’s quest is facilitated by three archetypes along the way, each embodied by one or more members of the cast who lack Kit’s signature vision.
Functioning as more than a love interest, Virgil (Mamoudou Athie) assumes the role of the everyman in relation to Kit’s journey. He is a skeptic who becomes a believer through a gradual transformative process, and Athie’s natural charm invites the audience to come along for the ride. During their first meeting in the hardware store, Virgil reacts to Kit in the way anyone might, with caution and reserved wryness. The two speak while separated between store aisles, and they are further separated visually by sale items blocking their faces. When Kit finally moves them out of the way, she breaks a barrier for both Virgil and the audience in what becomes an endearing moment. Any one of us might find Kit as disarming and refreshing as Virgil does, but how he reacts when his initial attraction is challenged may set him apart from the typical viewer.
Whereas somebody else might react with contempt or mocking amusement at learning Kit’s plan to adopt a unicorn, Virgil responds with tender concern. He believes she is being conned, and he worries about her safety. Virgil never once dismisses her dreams and desires; he only ever appeals to her voice of reason and attempts to ground her in a way that Kit arguably needs. Virgil’s cynicism is not unreasonable, especially after Kit’s attempt to show him The Store brings them to an empty room and his faith in Kit is tested once again. Virgil likes Kit for her imagination and sense of wonder, and he thinks someone has taken advantage of those qualities to hoodwink her. Virgil’s unwavering desire to give Kit the benefit of the doubt effectively steers the audience away from regarding Kit with pity or disdain.
Virgil’s impulse to believe the best of Kit puts him in the prime spot to embrace her whimsical nature. As silly and immature as Kit’s project may seem, Virgil has become a more skillful carpenter by helping her build a unicorn stable, and in voicing this to Kit he may actually learn Kit’s lesson before she does. Virgil realizes he has become a better and more fulfilled person for meeting Kit, and he is ultimately rewarded for putting his full faith in her by getting to meet Steve, Kit’s unicorn. Steve is a pure distillation of what Kit has brought into Virgil’s life: wonder. By giving a hardware store associate the chance to gape in awe at a real unicorn, the film charts a course for the viewer to reach the credits with the same sense of wonder.
As the Vice President of the PR agency Kit temps with, Gary (Hamish Linklater) represents the terminal point of Kit’s path should she choose to reject authenticity. Devoid of spark or color, Gary serves as a cautionary tale against repressing dreams. Despite his drab demeanor, Gary harbors a secret passion for ice skating, and he claims that he wishes the office was more creative. Although this could easily be a smokescreen for his unwanted advances on Kit, Gary regardless illustrates what Kit is fighting against: a boring life haunted by the thoughts of what could be. WhileUnicorn Storelacks a true antagonist, disingenuity could be thought of as its villain, and Gary its minion.
Gary’s attempts to encourage Kit’s creative flame are awkwardly entangled with his creepy and obvious infatuation with her. The ambiguity about which one he may be nurturing rightfully troubles Kit, but the answer arrives during her presentation for the Mystic Vacuum. Kit uses her presentation to earnestly highlight how everyone has a dream worth pursuing, while putting her authentic self on full display with a sparkle-showered dance routine. It can be difficult not to cringe as the slack jawed executives watch in silence, but her heartfelt speech afterwards should win over even the most jaded grumps. Gary, after encouraging her to inject a dose of creativity to the vacuum project, has the opportunity to defend her presentation. He instead backpedals his enthusiasm and downplays his explicit invitation for Kit to attend the pitch meeting. Gary proves to have been an unreliable supporter from the start.
After witnessing Kit’s full glory, Gary is given a choice. He can accept or reject Kit for who she is and by extension, he can accept or reject his genuine self. It is the same choice Virgil is given, but where Virgil experiences positive growth, Gary digs in his heels. He becomes emblematic of the force most threatening to Kit’s enlightenment: fear.Unicorn Storedoesn’t treat Kit like an embarrassment the way that Gary does. Kit lays out a brilliant marketing conceit with both intelligence and flair. Meanwhile, dull-eyed and cowardly Gary is unwilling to hear Kit’s message about chasing what makes one happy. An unaware viewer may not realize that they are cleverly being put in the same position as Gary.
Gene and Gladys
Kit’s parents represent the pressure she feels to change her life. Though their function in the film is mostly comedic, Gene (Bradley Whitford) and Gladys (Joan Cusack) are an important source of anxiety for Kit at several pivotal points in her journey. Kit believes her parents to be ignorant and gullible, and she doesn’t want to end up like them. Contrary to their daughter’s judgments, Gene and Gladys end up espousing the exact wisdom Kit needs to become the “right kind of girl” for her unicorn.
In an attempt to strengthen her relationship with her parents, Kit joins them on one of their youth group camping trips. During “truth circle” around the campfire, Kit bears her feelings and tells the truth about her unicorn adoption process, naively thinking this will improve their relationship. Gene and Gladys think she’s mocking their work with troubled youths, and Kit tells her parents that the teens on their camp trip are making up stories for the truth circle. Gene admits that he knows they’re lying. He tells Kit that the kids they work with have been through hard experiences, and every time they tell a lie it gets easier to one day tell the truth. He says they have good reason to hide themselves, and he asks Kit what reason she has to hide.
Kit grew up around emotionally intelligent parents. While they may have stunted the ease with which she connects with others by being potentially too open and earnest, they armed her with the necessary tools to understand herself. So it is after hearing Gene’s unexpected wisdom that Kit realizes she has no good reason to lie to herself about who she is or what she wants. It also forces Kit to reevaluate how she views her parents. Gene and Gladys demonstrate the fallacy of judging a book by its cover: Kit believed them to be simple and mundane, but it is this scene around the campfire that convinces her to proudly revel in her own colorful truth. Likewise, the audience should be careful not to judgeUnicorn Storefor its rainbow-laden cover, lest they miss out on the wisdom it has to offer.
Kit gets to meet her unicorn in the end. It’s a little shocking that this unicorn could very well be Steve, her childhood imaginary friend, and she refers to him as such. Steve is a symbol for Kit’s loneliness, but also a testament to herself. He represents Kit’s self-reliance as well as her self-doubt. By the time she meets Steve in person, she is fully content and comfortable with who she is, and all she wants is to be allowed authenticity. When The Salesman told Kit that The Store sells what she needs, he was not talking about a unicorn, but what the unicorn adoption process did for Kit: the journey allowed her to accept herself. Having already self-actualized, she leaves the unicorn for the next customer in line, hoping that he will help them achieve the same thing.
Unicorn Storetakes little joys in things as mundane as going to the hardware store or selling vacuums. It makes shopping feel like an adventure and makes meeting a bored, inexperienced associate feel like destiny. Something as mundane as a 9-to-5 office job ends up being exactly what Kit needs, because it gives her an informed look at the road not taken. The film is a celebration of all the tedious and unremarkable ways in which we get in touch with our true selves. Enduring inanity helps us appreciate the things that make us feel gleeful, as long as we are brave enough not to let our passions drown in uncertainty. If the film had not embraced the same bright visual language that Kit employs, it would have resulted in a story that doesn’t seem to believe in itself. It helps us see the world through Kit’s eyes and thus helps us learn the same lesson as Kit. Hopefully this confidence will cause viewers to reflect on how we could more enthusiastically embrace the parts of ourselves that make us happiest.
