A Ghost Story

Starring: Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara
Directed by: David Lowery
Screenplay by: David Lowery

    In theory, a film about a ghost lurking in the background much of the time should be a horror movie; one that should terrify you to the core (or not).  It might be a film that one thinks little of upon leaving the theater at the film's end.  Or it might be a film that sticks with audiences long after they leave.  A Ghost Story is a film that leaves the viewer unsure of what to think.
    Casey Affleck plays a character only known as C.  Rooney Mara plays a character only known as M.  They are clearly in a relationship and living together, very much in love.  The film begins as they are trying to build their life together, but it comes to a tragic and crashing end when C is killed in a car accident appearing to be not far from the house.  M, seemingly unsure of how to deal with this sudden and shocking loss remains calm and somewhat emotionless through the grieving process.  C wakes up on the table in the morgue, not as himself, but as the ghost.  He makes his way back to the house and becomes simply part of the background.  In one instance, he watches M eat pie by herself for nearly ten minutes.  He is stuck in this limbo, unsure of where to go or what to do.  M leaves notes behind when she moves from place to place, one night before his untimely death, and leaves one hidden in the wall after he dies.  Throughout the film, he picks at the place in the wall where she left the note, desperate to get to it in order to hang on to that part of her.
     Time marches on, and M ultimately decides to move out of the house, closing that chapter of her life and forcing C to attempt to let go of her.  But he is still stuck in the limbo of this house.  A new family moves in, and again C is just in the background.  The new family does not see him, but he can see them.  He begins to haunt the house, breaking plates and moving things around, terrifying them until they move out of the house as well.  New people move in and one night hold a party at the house.  This is the loudest part of the film as well as the part with the most dialogue.  A man explains to friends over a poker game his thoughts on the enormity of time and the affect people have on others throughout time.  We can tell that C is focused on what this man says although the camera is fixated on him as he speaks.  The effect his speech has on C is unclear, but he begins to realize that he must do what he can to hang on to his memory of M and attempt to reconnect with her from the afterlife.  His quest for the note M left behind becomes more clear and tries even harder to get to it.
     A Ghost Story is basically a highly intellectual film about being a fly on the wall; an observer.  In a sense, the audience is watching someone who is simply observing what is happening around them.  There is little dialogue, and sometimes there is a long pause between characters speaking.  Like C, the viewer is unsure of things.  The film seems to be unsure of things as well, placing the viewer, like C, in a state of limbo; a place between worlds.  The film captures this idea beautifully.  For some viewers, the film might get boring quickly because of the lack of action and dialogue.  A Ghost Story is an intellectual film that is sure to have audiences pondering it long after the film is over.

I give A Ghost Story an A-.

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