A Ghost Story (2017)

Review

92min

Genre:     Drama, Romance

Director:  David Lowery

Cast:       Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Sonia Acevedo…and more

Writer:    David Lowery

-Synopsis-

A young woman, struggling with the recent loss of her husband, is visited by his white sheet-covered spirit as he becomes a guardian of memories and a spectral observer to the her life (and others) in their house, in writer/director David Lowery’s (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Pete’s Dragon) existential meditation on loss, memory and legacy.

No one could ever accuse Lowery of not making the rounds in his cinematic education, having worked on almost every facet of the filmmaking process in his own films and for others, and from shorts through to feature films. Now following a major change of pace and his Disney success with last year’s ‘Pete’s Dragon’, Lowery returns to his indie roots and reunites his ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’ stars for a unique and poignant existential romance about the eternal nature of love.

Casey Affleck stars as a musician—living and working in his humble suburban Texas home with his young wife (Rooney Mara)—whose very existence takes a transcendental turn when he is tragically and unexpectedly killed. Only to return as a ghost cloaked in a white sheet, stoically watching over his grieving widow as she struggles to move on, while clinging to memory and regret—but set to take a cosmic journey through time and space to uncover meaning and the need to let go . . . ultimately fuelled by love.

‘A Ghost Story’ is yet another bold little drama which reflects the creative strength of independent cinema, showcasing precisely what indies have to offer over mainstream Hollywood, and a perfect example of what a talented storyteller and filmmaker can do when freed from the shackles ‘studio input’ . . . or indeed money. Shot on a shoestring budget, considering the calibre of the directorial and acting talents, this is a perfect film for those looking for a captivating, contemplative human drama with an existential streak—but not quite ready for Terrence Malick levels of abstraction.

Lowery cleverly and boldly uses imagery usually associated with haunting and horror, subverting them into a conduit for reflectively dealing with the very concepts of death, memory and the afterlife, with the passing of our physical selves not representing the final destination. He also rather boldly takes a clichéd and comical representation of a ghost, the familiar sight of a figure covered by a white sheet with eye-holes cut out, and manages to cloak it in mystery and poignancy—presenting a stoic observer spectre in a state of limbo, bearing witness to the lives he leaves behind, seemingly confined by place but not the nature of space and time.

In what is essentially a two-hander, most recent ‘best actor’ Oscar winner Affleck manages to put across some of his trademark low-key restrained angst for the little time he’s on the screen as his corporal self, but somehow manages to convey both melancholy and whimsy, plus a range of emotions as an impassive and delicate ghost. Meanwhile Rooney Mara delivers yet another restrained and nuanced performance as a grieving woman, never succumbing to melodrama yet conveying inner turmoil and pain but also a determination to endure, proving to effectively be the emotional heart and existential catalyst for the film.

‘A Ghost Story’ is no doubt a slow-burn drama, particularly in the first two acts, deliberate and contemplative with the very concept of time becoming fuzzy as scenes and days blur into one another, focusing on mundane repetitive acts to mesmerising effect by using long lingering shots, and seemingly unbroken scenes with very few discernible cuts. Even though the narrative and the imagery then shifts into the more abstract and existential, there’s only a hint of the fantastical and a small taste of the subtly supernatural here—as such the film might not appeal to those looking for some sort of instant gratification, or clear answers to both the profound and the banal questions raised by the narrative.

For those however looking for a simple yet complex, bold and philosophical human drama that’s unbound by narrative limitations or prescriptive thought, ‘A Ghost Story’ has so much to offer. A visually an aurally entrancing indie—thanks to elegant cinematography and a slightly off-key, melancholic and piercing score by Daniel Hart—which brings a new perspective to the notion of houses and places having memory and history, while weaving together a moving meditation on loss and grief, which can be described as something like ‘Ghost’ and ‘Manchester by the Sea’ meets ‘The Tree of Life’.

Ultimately this indie gem is an emotive and impressive creative effort from its writer/editor/director David Lowery, at times heartrending and sad enough to make you welcome the finality of death, and at others have you contemplate what potentially lies beyond—presenting life as a mark on a giant cosmic tapestry of time, kept alive here on Earth by memory and by the only truly eternal and transcendental force in the universe . . . love.

The Bottom Line…

A beautiful, sometimes sombre and always thought-provoking meditation on love, loss, grief and memory—and their connection to time and place—‘A Ghost Story’ is a bold and memorable little human drama indie which perfectly illustrates what independent cinema has to offer. If you go in with patience and an open mind, prepared to be transfixed, moved and challenged to never look at your own four walls the same way again.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Tree of Life (2011)

Writer/director Terrence Malick paints a unique cinematic portrait in this existentialist drama about the meaning of life and our place in the universe, as seen through a middle-aged man’s memories of growing up in 1950s Texas.

Directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain among others.

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