By Michael Colford
Rating: 5 cats
Director: David Lowery
Starring: Casey Affleck | Kesha | Rooney Mara
Country: united_states
Year: 2017
Running time: 92
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6265828/?ref_=nv_sr_3
Brett says: “The films that stand the test of time are the ones we take home with us long after we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing them. A GHOST STORY is a visual narrative that explores the very concept of standing the test of time, or whether time is as much a test as it is a puzzle about our respective places in the world. And it is one that resonates well after the final credit rolls as that long walk back to the vehicle might suddenly feature a few more moments of looking over your shoulder than you might be accustomed to, and the nature of the time it took to get there will likely be questioned even after you’ve arrived home.
“A couple rich in love yet facing their share of conflict is the foundation for a study in existentialism that really takes off when an unexpected visitor inside their house becomes a vehicle for mystery and insight simultaneously, a feat that sounds so contradictory that the success of pulling it off simply must be experienced and internalized on one’s own. The faux clamp the couple played by Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck have on their respective realities takes an unexpected shift when one passes into the realm of wandering spirits while the other carries on, oblivious to far more than just what lies beyond this life through a rather unconventional ghost haunt that serves as the mechanism to drive home this point. Through an observation into the afterlife, the viewer is made very self-aware about what actually life is and what life isn’t.
“Writer/Director David Lowery successfully frames a genre-bending tale that is equal parts poetry and narrative. The film racks up minutes upon minutes of silent, pure cinema, allowing audiences to tell the tale through their own introspections while playing voyeur into a sequence of lives in the form of a spectral looking glass. The production design and costuming plays perfect accompaniment to the supernatural solo features throughout the film. In addition to the sublime cleverness of the script, the use of music, cinematography, and editing are also all such a finely welded unit that the film achieves all of its thematic goals through the masterful congruency of all these cinematic elements.
“The film’s use of long takes and meticulous compositions of each shot might at first seem like a bit of an artistic reach that some impatient viewers cannot bear, but the payoff for such establishing scenes surely hits nerves of perceptive audience members once the deliberate intent of David Lowery is realized by the film’s conclusion. Inasmuch as the film uses a somewhat familiar ghosting element, the experience of this dramatic haunt has a one-of-a-kind look and feel to it. Furthermore, A GHOST STORY makes a bold attempt at putting film-goers in an eerie and somewhat uncomfortable predicament of having an out-of-body experience of their own in which it’s not others that we are standing over, but instead ourselves. 5 cats
“Recommended for audience members who lean toward philosophical observances about humans’ place in the world and, more specifically, the complexities of time and existence
“Recommended for those who enjoy unique dramatic takes on horror/supernatural thriller genre
“Recommended for fans of pure cinema visual-reliant cinema”