If you can't tell by the trailer that showcases a person in what looks like a cheap Halloween ghost costume, let me emphasize the fact that this is not for everybody's taste. From the boxed shaped aspect ratio, the huge lack of dialogue throughout the whole story, the unconventional premise, the melancholic tone, to the tedious scenes of mundanity, this movie will push a lot of people's patience. There's even this one scene where all we see is Rooney Mara eating a pie in real time that lasts for minutes. Literally minutes, with only two cuts during the whole scene, static camera shots, and with no dialogue.
Some people are going to get frustrated with this movie, that they might feel encouraged to yell at the screen questioning what the hell they are watching, be bored during it's very slow paced scenes to the point of falling asleep, or just leave the theater altogether. In fact in my screening, there were people who did indeed leave the theater within the first thirty minutes of the movie. I myself was compelled to walk out early. Despite all that I said just now, by the end of it all, I thought it was one of the most profoundly moving films I've ever seen released in 2017. Boldly powerful. Artistically experimental. Thought provoking. Beautifully Poetic. Wow, what a cinematic experience.
Nobody is going to argue that this movie is very alienating to what is probably it's own detriment, but Writer-Director David Lowery is a brilliant visionary that sticks the landing to the themes presented in this film. It's hard to say why I ended up liking this movie as much as I did without spoiling key points, but it tackles on certain subject matters that really spoke to me in a deep level, about grief, legacy, futility, time, connections, history, and death. What looks like a pretentious gimmicky movie, truly did emotionally hit me in ways I did not initially expect from it. It's not a perfect film by any means, and I had my issues with it regarding particular plot points, but it really made up for it's flaws with the things I loved about it.
While the movie is called "A Ghost Story," this is far from being your typical ghost story that's trying to be scary; although there is oddly enough one jump scare moment. On a technical level it is still a ghost story, but just told from a very unique perspective that will possibly make you reconsider your thoughts about ghosts. Lowery gave us something special here, that will likely haunt me for years to come.
lovedit ENJOYED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible
