A Ghost Story (2017) Review

"What is it you like about this house so much?"
-M



A man (Casey Affleck) and his wife (Rooney Mara) live in a house together.  After he is killed in a car accident, the man returns to his house as a ghost and can only watch as his wife mourns.  After she moves out, the man stays behind and haunts the house.


What Works:

This is one of the most profoundly sad and existential films I have ever seen.  I can't stop thinking about the movie and how it made me feel.  Some of those shots of the ghost sitting all alone just made me feel extremely lonely.  The film is very effective at conveying emotion without saying much.

I love how simple the look of the ghost is.  It's literally a sheet with two eye-holes cut out.  We've seen this in a million cartoons.  I love that they went this direction with the costume design and it gives the film a memorable look.

In the early parts of the film, we get some extremely long and drawn-out shots.  There is a scene with Rooney Mara eating pie for 7 minutes.  It's crazy and uncomfortable, but the movie forces you to deal with the emotions occurring on screen.  It doesn't cut away to give you a break.  It wants you to feel.

Finally, the sound of the movie is beautiful.  The entire soundtrack is haunting and powerful.  I haven't been able to stop listening to it.


What Sucks:

My only complaint with the movie comes from Will Oldham's character.  He plays a guy at a party who goes on a long tangent talking about the end of the universe.  I get why he's in the movie, but it comes off as a bit pretentious and could have been trimmed down.


Verdict:

A Ghost Story is one of the simplest movies I have ever seen, but that didn't stop it from having a profound effect on me.  It's emotionally devastating and fulfilling, I love the look of the costume, and the sound is wonderful.  There is one scene that doesn't work for me and the movie as a whole won't be general audience's cup of tea, but as far as I'm concerned, A Ghost Story has got it going on.

 9/10: Great 

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