David Lowery's A Ghost Story

A beautifully told ghostly tale that will leave you speechless.

​Directed and Written by: 

• David Lowery

Cast:

• Casey Affleck as C
• Rooney Mara as M

Length:

• approx.92 min

Genre:

• Drama

When people think of ghost movies they might think of Horror classics such as Poltergeist (the original, not the shitty remake), Insidious (not according to Mags),  The Conjuring and of course Ghost (not really a Horror but anyway). While A Ghost Story is a movie about a ghost - yes, but definitely  not in a traditional or conventional sense. It's a meditating, peaceful and haunting look at a ghost stuck in limbo, so to speak. 

Directed by David Lowery, best known for Disney's Pete's Dragon, comes a film that will leave your mind open to interpretation, while at the same time will haunt you well after the credits roll.
 

I might have teared up a little just watching the trailer.

After a man dies suddenly in a car crash just outside his home, he awakens as a ghost (draped in a white sheet) and travels back to his house where his wife is in mourning.
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First thing first, this movie won't appeal to all moviegoers. One look at the poster and you might think this will be another Horror film, but it's really not. It's more about a man's journey, as a ghost, in the afterlife – or lack of a journey, and his wife's grief process.

Some scenes will stay with you (the ghost walking across the grass field!!). Not to mention the stunning score. I immediately searched the soundtrack on YouTube and was blown away. If you get the chance, give the band Dark Rooms a listen – it's worth it.

Boo!

Performances. This isn't a dialogue driven movie and thank God. Let's face it, when you're in grief, you barely want to communicate with anyone and do ghosts talk? The tranquillity of the film is all that is needed. Sometimes less is more.

I've never been a big fan of Rooney Mara but this one performance has changed my opinion. Her sadness and grief is real – it's real!!

​Casey Affleck, alive or dead, is unreal. I mean he spends most of the movie under a sheet and can't communicate with humans, he just observe,  but wow.

That's the thing, the look of the ghost can come off as comical but at no point did I think “He looks hilarious”. If the ghost had been in human form, it never would've had the same effect.
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"Director David Lowery has a big future ahead of him but I do wonder if he will ever reach the peak of this masterpiece."

Life is all about choices, I guess the afterlife poses similar propositions. Are we destined to stay on this Earth roaming as a ghost? I guess these are questions we won't know - for now.

Director David Lowery has a big future ahead of him but I do wonder if he will ever reach the peak of this masterpiece. Made for only US $100,000 – A Ghost Story proves you don't need a big budget to tell a effective and haunting story.
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Up there with Manchester by the Sea as one of the movies of the year; and Casey Affleck appeared in both of them. Recommended for lovers of simple but unique storytelling. Bring a box of tissues with you!

9/10

Written by Matthew.

Quote: "A writer writes a novel, a songwriter writes a song, we do what we can do to endure".

Trivia: This is the second collaboration David Lowery has had with both Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. He previously directed them both in Ain't Them Bodies Saints in 2013.
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Related Reviews:

We all grieve in a different way, and Francisca from The Eyes of my Mother sure grieve in a one of a kind way.

Since getting a hug from Natalie Dormer last week at the Comic Con, Dan can't think of anyone else. Oh, yea, The Forest is basically a ghost story too. 

"If there's somethin' strange/ in your neighborhood
Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!
If it's somethin' weird/ an it don't look good
Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!
I ain't afraid a no ghost"...
 Sorry I had to!