A Ghost Story (2017) Directed by David Lowery. Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, McColm Cephas Jr. IMDB says: “In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his bereft wife.”
A Ghost Story follows the relationship of our two main characters C (Casey Affleck) and M (Rooney Mara). After an accident early in the film, C dies, but is soon back as your classic bedsheet ghost, eyeholes and all. As the movie progresses we see M deal with loss and eventually move on with her life, leaving C to wait around for what is next to come.
I went into this film only having seen the one trailer released, which I believe was a smart idea. This film is one of those that benefits from knowing as little as possible up front. So let’s get one thing clear, this movie is not a horror even though it’s about a ghost. At the same time, several scenes have an eerie dreadfulness to them that gave me goosebumps.
Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) made the decision to have the main POV for the majority of the film be that of C’s ghost. This is something I have never seen in a film before and it really does work phenomenally. This movie could have been a total snooze-fest if done wrong. Luckily, Lowery was able to make it incredibly interesting even when just watching time pass.
The viewer is given a quick introduction of the two characters before ripping C away and his ghost form taking over. We watch C’s ghost pass time as M grieves and eventually moves on. This movie is very much about time as we see new inhabitants move in and out of the story as C is still waiting and holding on to something. Besides time, life and legacy are also huge themes throughout the film, which are most notably mentioned in a monologue about midway through the feature. The film is complemented with eerie visuals and a score by Daniel Hart that sets the mood and really adds to the overall experience. This is for sure a film that has repeat viewing potential and is already my favorite film of 2017. I can’t really delve into much more specifics without ruining things, so just go see for yourself.
FTS SCORE: 93%
A Ghost Story is in limited theaters now.