A Ghost Story (2017) Dir: David Lowery
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Like many cinephiles, I am partial to an A24 produced film, and this David Lowery directed film was one that I had been eyeing up for a little while now. It looked intriguing as much as anything else, and I liked the sound of its premise.
The film was remarkably atmospheric, at points, especially in the first half. It was accompanied by an ambient soundtrack, which I enjoyed a lot. However, I did have one pretty prevalent issue; it was just too long. It feels odd to say about a ninety minute film, I know, but it just was. I think it would have been a brilliant short film though.
I enjoyed much of the cinematography on display, though it had its pitfalls. There were a lot of long, lingering shots - some of which drew me in and captivated me, but often they lasted too long. The technique grew less and less effective for me. At one stage, I even grew a little frustrated by how long some of the shots went on.
The narrative gave me mixed emotions. I thought it did a lot of things well, but certainly not everything. The opening was both intimate and emotive - honestly, it was beautiful to watch. From there, things took a sombre turn, which I also really liked. I thought the dilation of time was fascinating and effective. However, from there, the story took a weird turn - I didn't hate it, but it didn't quite work for me.
Casey Affleck spent a lot of time under a sheet in this film, but the period of time in which he didn't was well acted. In fairness, he was very good at being under a sheet, and his body movements certainly added something to it.
Rooney Mara was magnificent. She was the best part of the film by a mile, such was the quality of her acting. She did so much with so little, particularly when she wasn't interacting with other characters. I was thoroughly enamoured with her performance.
Overall, I enjoyed a lot of the various elements of this one, but it had a few issues that took away from my viewing experience a little. It was very much a low budget independent film, and a good one at that, but it's flaws held it back from being a great film.
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