A Ghost Story isn't what it sounds like. To most people, the mere mention of this conjures a horror movie of dubious quality. Instead, A Ghost Storry haunts its audience with a quiet yet touching exploration of love, loss and memory.
Casey Affleck stars (as much as one can in this instance) as a man reluctant to move on from the small, rural existence he has nestled himself in. Rooney Mara meanwhile, is desperate to break out and move on. When tragedy strikes, they must both find their way along their chosen paths.
There's no point trying to explain A Ghost Story as it's not a film that relies on plot. What happens is just circumstance and provides brief junctures for the audience to hold onto and understand. Beyond that, we are all here for the ride as time carries us forward and onwards. This is a film to be experienced, to be felt rather than cognitively evaluated.
And that is the ultimate strength of A Ghost Story. There surely must be answers to be found but those aren't meant for us. Instead, we are made to guess, wonder and ultimately understand it on a very personal level.
Affleck and Mara are superb in this quiet little gem showcasing so much with so little. A Ghost Story is a tightly controlled affair that benefits greatly from this yet, it never feels overwrought or forced. The actors deliver as required, the camera (almost claustrophobic) controls the scene and Daniel Hart's score instils the small, empty spaces with pathos.
This is a tight film in every way and for all its quiet, slow deliberation, one can't help but feel that, in all its emptiness, the air is bloated. Whether this is anticipation for something to come or even projected sensibilities, it bounces back and forward, gripping the audience and forcing you and it to go deeper.
A Ghost Story isn't what it sounds like. To most people, the mere mention of this conjures a horror movie of dubious quality. Instead, A Ghost Storry haunts its audience with a quiet yet touching exploration of love, loss and memory.
Casey Affleck stars (as much as one can in this instance) as a man reluctant to move on from the small, rural existence he has nestled himself in. Rooney Mara meanwhile, is desperate to break out and move on. When tragedy strikes, they must both find their way along their chosen paths.
There's no point trying to explain A Ghost Story as it's not a film that relies on plot. What happens is just circumstance and provides brief junctures for the audience to hold onto and understand. Beyond that, we are all here for the ride as time carries us forward and onwards. This is a film to be experienced, to be felt rather than cognitively evaluated.
And that is the ultimate strength of A Ghost Story. There surely must be answers to be found but those aren't meant for us. Instead, we are made to guess, wonder and ultimately understand it on a very personal level.
Affleck and Mara are superb in this quiet little gem showcasing so much with so little. A Ghost Story is a tightly controlled affair that benefits greatly from this yet, it never feels overwrought or forced. The actors deliver as required, the camera (almost claustrophobic) controls the scene and Daniel Hart's score instils the small, empty spaces with pathos.
This is a tight film in every way and for all its quiet, slow deliberation, one can't help but feel that, in all its emptiness, the air is bloated. Whether this is anticipation for something to come or even projected sensibilities, it bounces back and forward, gripping the audience and forcing you and it to go deeper.
