"We Do What We Can To Endure..."
Fresh from an inevitable and well deserved Oscar win for his performance in Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea, Casey Affleck returns to the big screen alongside Carol and The Social Network star Rooney Mara in A Ghost Story, a supernatural drama written and directed by David Lowery who reunites with the duo after previously working together on the 2013 drama Ain't Them Bodies Saints. With an eerie, off-kilter sensibility, a staggeringly ambitious ideas narrative and one of the most affecting musical accompaniments of the year in film, Lowery's latest is unlike anything seen on-screen this year, a film which utilises the basic horror trope of a common haunted house movie but then manages to expand its' horizons into something which resembles closer an allegorical mix of themes which evoke everything from Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life to Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. With little dialogue and a raging art-house aesthetic, A Ghost Story is a film undoubtedly not for everyone, but for those with the patience and willingness to embrace its existence, Lowery's movie is an exquisite work of art.
Shot in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, or in televisual and layman's terms, 4:3, A Ghost Story follows a sheet cladded Casey Affleck who after passing away due to the events of a traffic collision, follows his unnamed wife, portrayed by Rooney Mara, throughout her life after his death, all within the confines of the dated home in which they both shared. With directory David Lowery utilising the retro and "boxiness" nature of the aspect ratio to ensure the audience understands the claustrophobic nature of the film from the point of view of Casey's spectral presence, the film utilises endless long shots and unbroken edits for the first half of the movie, including the now infamous one-shot "pie scene" and a chilly, uncertain introduction to Affleck's transition from life to death, and whilst at times the pace of the movie does begin to falter, the second half of the movie in which Christopher Nolan's Interstellar seemed to be a obvious blueprint for the direction of the narrative, concludes the film in a stunning and ambitious fashion. A Ghost Story isn't a movie which belongs on the big screen, instead, Lowery's latest is more akin to a museum piece where examination and steadiness is key to admiring its' beauty, and whilst the film doesn't hold together everything it intends to accomplish within such a short amount of time, A Ghost Story is undoubtedly an unforgettable and bold moviegoing experience.
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