I put off watching A Ghost Story because the premise and trailers made me feel like it’s the type of movie you have to be in a very specific mood to watch. What that mood is I don’t know exactly, but I finally watched it and feel like I can confirm you need to be in a very specific mood to watch. I believe I was in the right mood because once I did finally watch it I enjoyed myself but I have to say that A Ghost Story is the artiest art-house movie to ever art.
Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara play a young married couple living in their first house together. It’s unclear what Mara’s character does for a living but Affleck appears to be a struggling musician. Rooney wants to move to a new house, but Casey is hesitant to leave because he believes they have history together. Eventually Casey gives in and says they can move and as luck would have it within a few days later Casey is killed in a car crash just outside their house.
At the hospital, after his body is verified by Rooney, Casey wakes up covered in a sheet. He’s now your standard Charlie Brown ghost. Casey wanders through the hospital as a ghost coming across a bright light that appears to be leading into some sort of portal. Casey doesn’t enter the light and the portal eventually closes up. Unsure of what to do, Casey returns to his home and watches Rooney. Casey stays at the home and watches and things change over the years.
If I had to pick one word to describe this movie it would be lingers. And I don’t mean that in a bad way either, but it’s apt to say that A Ghost Story lingers. There are a number of scenes, both before and after Casey’s dies, where the camera just lingers. It’s as if the we as the audience are just peering into the lives or normal people doing pretty mundane things. The camera just sits and allows us to soak it all in. Even as everything changes within the house, we just sit and watch it all past by, much like the ghost.
There are long, drawn out scenes with little to no dialogue. That’s bold filmmaking I think. It may seem simple and like a cop out, but it’s not. It takes a lot of restraint to present a film in this way. It helps set the mood of the film incredibly well. Casey’s ghost is trapped, unsure of what to do, and we are trapped with him. It’s works quite well.
The film also lingers with the viewer long after the credits roll. Since watching the movie I can’t stop thinking about it, trying to dissect it. I can’t pretend to know what it all means or what exactly director David Lowery was hoping convey but I know what I took from the film. A bunch of obvious themes are at play — love, loss, time — but I think it’s about home. Casey is just trying to get back to his home. That’s all he knows and that’s all he wants. He understand he’s dead, but he doesn’t want to leave his home. It kind of reminds me of Beetlejuice in that regard. In that film Adam and Barbara just want to be in their home. Casey is no different. Also there’s the ghost sheet.
One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is a scene of Rooney alone in her home after Casey’s death. Up to this point she’s been mostly emotionless. She begins to eat a pie and slowly starts eating it faster and faster. Eventually we start to see the tears roll down her cheeks. She’s finally beginning to grieve. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful. A great big of cinema.
Aside from being a gorgeous looking movie — everything is framed and shot so wonderfully — A Ghost Story features a killer score. David Hart did a wonderful job and the use of “I Get Overwhelmed” by Dark Rooms is perfect. Easily one of my favorite scores of the year.
The Blu-ray for A Ghost Story has a decent amount of bonus content. There is an audio commentary featuring Lowery, Hart, DP Andrew Droz Palermo and production designer Jade Healy. In addition to the commentary there is a deleted scene, a feature on the score with Hart and then a pretty cool roundtable discussion with some of the cast and crew sharing ghost stories. It’s sort of set up like a found footage movie. I dig it.
A Ghost Story isn’t going to be for everyone. This is a super art-house movie that might rub some people the wrong way. For me though, it’s a gorgeous film and a refreshing, bold take on filmmaking. It’s certainly worth checking out.
A Ghost Story is now available on Blu-ray from Lionsgate.
