A Ghost Story - Review

Directors: David Lowery

Screenwriter: David Lowery

Starring Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara

An Odyssey of Love, Loss and time that will connect with some and isolate most.

A Ghost Story is unlike anything you will ever see this year and for some that will prove extremely problematic. If you are planning to see this film already then I suggest you stop reading and see this film with as little knowledge of it as you can, minor spoilers ahead.

The film centers on a nameless couple played by Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, who is killed in a car crash in the opening moments of the film. However, the man continues to wander the earth in the most classic of Ghost designs, White sheet and two eye holes. Moving slowly and silently the ghost doesn’t haunt his wife, he observes her through her stages grief. Time passes in a flash for us, the wife moves on and eventually leaves the house and thus leaves the ghost, leaving only a note in a small crack in the house which our Ghost for the duration of the film will revisit as he desperately tries to access it.

To detail the rest of the films narrative would be a disservice, what I will say is this, the film goes to places you will never see coming. If you do manage to engage with the film, the feeling you have when it ends will stay with you for long after the credits roll.

This is down to David Lowery’s very personal story and intimate he has created as he takes the helm of Writer and Director. The most noticeable aesthetic choice of the film is its Aspect Ratio, shot at a ratio of 1.33:1, the film is presented in a box shaped frame as opposed to the widescreen almost every modern-day film will use. What will be dismissed by some to be hipster garbage due to its Instagram feel has a very subconscious effect on the viewer. The intimacy of the films narrative is further emphasized trough this presentation style, your eyes do not wander across the screen they are centered at all times, the director knows exactly what he wants us to see at every moment.

What brings this all together for me is the films incredible

score. It is quiet in parts, complimenting the visuals as it should and at other points it dominates the film with heavy strings and a booming choir, yet without feeling overbearing. The track ‘Safe Safe Safe’ captures that feeling of melancholy, pain and love that the film gave me with perfection, it is simply beautiful.

A Ghost Story is certainly not going to go down as a crowd pleaser, it is slow paced due to its lack of quick editing and lack of dialogue. Lowery lingers his shots for literal minutes, letting every moment sit with the viewer. Not everyone will love this film, I believe most will despise it, however for me it is amongst the best of 2017 and perhaps of recent years.

Rating – 5/5 Stars