“A Ghost Story” is undeniably a thoughtful and ambitious exercise in film making. It takes no shortcuts and provides no easy answers for audiences; for that reason alone it stands out from typical cinema fare.
Add to its speculative concept writer/director David Lowery’s vision and choices in terms of executing the work, and you have an art film that cannot help but spark conversation and introspection among audiences willing to follow it where it leads.
All that said, it’s a difficult film to recommend beyond a defined audience. It’s not a film you enjoy, per se, and thus it’s hard to imagine “A Ghost Story” appealing to mainstream audiences.
What’s it about?
Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”) and Rooney Mara (“Lion”, “Carol”) star as a couple, identified only by their initials, C (Affleck) and M (Mara), dealing with tension in their marriage, most recently over having to move from the home they’re renting.
Audiences only get a few glimpses at their lives before one is ended in a senseless tragedy. While M is left to grieve and find a way forward, C begins a new existence as a white-sheeted ghost. Unseen and unable to speak, he’s drawn back to the house he shared with M and forced to watch her struggle with grief and loss.
C soon discovers that time passes differently for him — hours and days sometimes pass in mere seconds, and other times drag out interminably. And while M eventually does move on, emotionally and physically, C remains bound to his new existence.
His predicament leads to an exploration of nothing less than the real meanings of time, place and existence. What does it mean to live, to love, to move on? Do we ever really move on, even after death, and if we don’t, what could possibly hold us back?
A different visual experience
Right away, Lowery’s aesthetic choices in “A Ghost Story” are sure to strike audiences as unusual and thought-provoking.
Lowery shoots the film in the now rarely-used 1:33 aspect ratio, where the narrative frame is more of square than the widescreen we’ve all become so accustomed to at the movies. To soften the boxy frame the aspect ratio imposes upon the screen, Lowery uses vignettes to literally round its corners of the frame.
The resulting effect is like looking at a series of vintage photos, rather than a contemporary film, which makes an odd sort of sense once the plot starts playing fast and loose with the passage of time.
The more compact frame also demands that shots featuring multiple performers be even tighter and more intimate than they might otherwise be, or at least feel tighter. You can imagine the haunting effect that might have once the performers in question are playing a grieving wife and a motionless, mournful looking ghost forced to look on.
Lowery also prolongs the length of certain shots during which little to no physical activity is visible beyond what audiences might expect. The result is an added tension, an expectation of something about to happen, that when it doesn’t should lead viewers to go back and contemplate the significance of the moment itself.
Almost a silent film
“A Ghost Story” might also surprise viewers in terms of how little dialogue the film contains.
By far, Affleck’s screen time is most affected by Lowery’s minimalist script. After he’s under the white sheet, he has no dialogue at all, and thus has to convey the spirit’s range of emotions through physical posture and movement.
Mara doesn’t have many more lines than Affleck, despite remaining among the film’s living characters. She does, however, get the benefit of facial expression and more dramatic physical movement in her role, and she uses them to deliver a powerful and captivating performance.
Mara has one scene in particular that already has critics abuzz. Watch for a silent, seven-minute series of shots featuring M in the earliest moments of her grief, acting instinctually just to feel something else aside from the pain.
Just how uncomfortable while at the same time compelling the scene is stands as a testament to the strength of Lowery’s vision and Mara’s own tremendous talent as a performer.
Worth seeing?
In the end, is “A Ghost Story” a beautiful film? Without question, yes. Is it memorable? Certainly.
Beyond experiencing the film for the sake of discussing its poetic aesthetics and metaphysical explorations, however, it’s tough to call “A Ghost Story” a must-see film, at least in theaters.
It might be better fare to view at home, surrounded by like-minded film aficionados, and then talk the film and conclusions you might draw out with the group. It would also serve well in academic or classroom settings about film, philosophy or human emotion and processing of grief.
A Ghost Story
Starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. Directed by David Lowery.
Running time: 92 minutes
Rated R for brief language and a disturbing image.