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The first thing you will hear about A Ghost Story, director David Lowery’s indie follow-up to last year's Pete’s Dragon reboot, is that Rooney Mara spends five minutes comfort-eating a pie. The film, which hits theaters this weekend, remains one of our favorite films of the year. Its depiction of human existence and feelings of enormity are poignant and combine to form a moving portrait of grief, lessons and existence.This review of A Ghost Story was originally published on January 24th, 2017 as part of The Verge’s Sundance Film Festival coverage. The film is a study of the events that occur in death and the months after, and it is presented with precision and care. “A Ghost Story” packs a compelling narrative outfitted with unusual stylistic choices and a rich visual language. We are also given a sequence of land, presumed to be where their home would eventually be built on, it is tended and settled by pioneers accompanied by a wagon and horses. This leads to an interesting sequence of the ghost finding his way to the top of the building and seeing the futuristic skyline of his former neighborhood. The film takes a turn when their home is destroyed and a highrise building is built in its place. He forces them out, ultimately longing for his wife. Affleck’s ghost watches his wife grow and eventually leave their home. But one of the common adjectives attributed to this film is “cosmic.” A theme in the film is the passing of time. The first half of the film focuses on the mundane (in a good way, trust me). Lowery’s cinematography in the film is impeccable, often utilizing pans and still frames. Lowery uses it in a way that further complicates the ghost’s predicament. 1.33:1 ratios, often seen in early films, are often used by modern directors as a way to make a statement. The idea that those walls see time pass is incredibly poignant and moving.Ī prominent feature of this film is its 1.33:1 aspect ratio. This was recreated by Mara’s character before she left the house and ghost behind. He felt he owed something to the house, leaving a personal note in the walls to allow him some closure when he left. Lowery speaks about his feelings when he moved out of his childhood home. One of them is a 20-minute discussion about the film between Lowery, actors, and crew members in an abandoned clergy house. The featurettes on the Blu-ray are interesting. In the back half of the film, they play host to new visitors for the mournful ghost. The house and its place in the first half of the film are key figures. These themes, along with the film’s cinematography, allow the characters freedom while moving through the frame. Physical space and environment are incredibly important thematic devices in the film. I felt a weird sense of welcome as a viewer, watching Mara’s character grieve the death of her husband, played by Casey Affleck. Lowery captures the setting nicely in his depiction of a young married couple’s first home: simple decor, linens and various objects scattered about, and empty coffee cups on the piano. This film carries a lived-in quality to it, as much of it takes place in a suburban home.
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You can see that the film was meticulously choreographed as many shots require patience from the viewer. While the film is incredibly slow at times, cinematography is brilliantly crafted. A character delivers a roughly 16-minute monologue on existence and humanity’s place in it. There are parts of the film which turns away some viewers: Rooney Mara’s character eats an entire pie in one shot. The film is part drama, part sci-fi, and its depiction of grief is heartfelt and intentional. Lowery’s direction balances an austere nature with gargantuan subject material. The film tackles the enormity of creation and existence without falling into any religious allegory that is by no means a bad feature. This hidden gem, an A24 production released in 2017, is a slow, surreal and cosmic film. Written and directed by David Lowery, the film chronicles a white-sheeted ghost’s journey back home in an attempt to reconnect with his grieving wife. “A Ghost Story” is a metaphysical study of loss, grief and the passing of time.