A GHOST STORY – Rated R – 1 hr. 32 mins.
Starring Casey Affleck & Rooney Mara
Written and Directed by David Lowery (AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS, PETE’S DRAGON) we venture deep into the ethereal world of a friendly ghost…as he attempts to reach his bereaving wife from the other side…and the other inhabitants in a place he calls home…THIS IS A GHOST STORY!
Lost in the vastness of real life, we meet C (Casey Affleck) and M (Rooney Mara), taking on the highs and lows of married life, one day at a time…
When a freak accident takes C from this world – he becomes a white sheet laden figure, staying here to try to connect with his grieving wife, as she attempts to deal with the great loss she was ill prepared to experience – one fork full at a time…
Flash to new inhabitants within C & M’s humble home…and as they begin to settle in, the ghostly inhabitant doesn’t want them occupying “their space”…so he lets them know they need to move on from whence they came…
Now, as our ghostly figure continues to linger in limbo as the years pass by…he realizes that homes nearby have ghostly inhabitants too, still waiting as he, for a reason to leave this plain of existence…and finally say goodbye…
I give A GHOST STORY a rating of WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON NETFLIX or STREAMING! Structured as a very unconventional ghost story ~ No horror movie happening here ~ A GHOST STORY takes an alternative approach on dealing with love, loss and the other frailties of LIFE. Affleck’s appeal does periodically appear, even beyond being cloaked in whiteness throughout most of this film. Mara’s stoic persona is apparent in this film too ~ although she does convey a humanity this time around…when she attempts to overcome her grief and loss by gorging herself with food, and then vomiting it up shortly thereafter, thus providing a realism that you don’t usually experience with her performances. Lowery’s attempt with this film at conveying the sadness of life, and the after-life, does comes through with the intense conviction of his friendly apparition, but it all plays out in a rather peculiar, and sometimes uncomfortable way. And if you love scary movies, you’ll be disappointed with this film too…as there is nothing scary about A GHOST STORY the whole way through. Thus, leaving me to suggest you wait and experience this rather unusual film, when it hits on the small screen, a few weeks from now…
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 