So not only will this be spoiler free it'll basically be story free, I want you to go into this the same way I did. So here's what I knew, Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck are a couple, Affleck dies and becomes a ghost in a big white sheet and follows Mara home. Oh and it's not a horror. Whilst I was disappointed it wasn't a horror I was intrigued by the story and as always I'm interested in anything A24 does. Basically, it's about a ghost that mourns the loss of his own life. Something you will notice pretty instantly is the cinematography and editing. The film is shot in the aspect ratio 4:3 (1:33:1) like an old tv. Not something you often see on the big screen. It made everything feel kind of vintage? Almost nostalgic, it felt intimate as if it was someones homemovie and they had just stuck the VHS in for you to watch. I didn't find it quite claustrophobic though I believe the intention was to increase the feeling of being trapped. The editing is also noticeable. Very long takes, very long stationary takes where they've plonked the camera down and said, 'yeah go on actors I'll tell you when to stop I promise' then gone to make a cuppa. I don't mind being conscious of an edit or a shot but I'm not that keen on being taken out of the film because of it. I think with the subject matter it works, it gives you time to take in what's happening, though there's never a rush, it let's you breathe. The mixture of a boxier screen and long motionless shots gave the appearance you were flicking through a selection of polaroids. Definitely had its own style.
I hate saying things like this but the sound was a character in itself. The film had a clever balance between style being overtly used and subtly giving the scene more weight. The sound was beautiful. Composer Daniel Hart has worked with the director previously on Pete's Dragon (2016) and Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013) in which Affleck and Mara also appear. The score was perfect and the original song included was exactly what it needed to be. Same goes for the absence, the silence and diagetic sound was sometimes noticeable but never imposing.
Performances were great, Mara was great, though she said few words. Affleck was the same even though he was under a sheet for the most part. You still find their relationship sincere even with the lack of dialogue, and I say lack as if it were missing, it wasn't, again like sound it was what it needed and no more. I will say there is a monologue by singer-songwriter Will Oldham that is wonderfully performed. It is an interesting and engaging piece and even though I thought, no one would ever talk like this is, it was natural. He was great. If you keep your eyes open you'll notice that Kesha is also in this scene, I'm not gonna lie I didn't notice her at all but sure she's there.
The general themes of mourning and death in a larger sense are explored in a well thought out narrative. I enjoy films that close. It's satisfying for a film to come full circle, to clarify earlier scenes at the end and hint at the final act part way through. A Ghost Story does this well. It discusses the fear that everyone has, will I be remembered? What will last, what will remain of us and our memories? Once I'm gone am I really gone? It's still not preachy in this, and not too heavy as I was bracing myself for but still lands. I really liked this film, for some reason I didn't want to. I think it was graceful and sincere and had a good narrative structure. Unique take on death and mourning that you would not have seen before. 7/10
CINEMATES - A
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