Independent Cinema for Everyone

With Halloween at the end of the month, October is the perfect time of the year to watch horror films and ghost stories. Ben Cherry reviews A Ghost Story, showing in our cinema until October 4th.

A Ghost Story, however is not  a horror film in the conventional sense. There are scary moments but the film’s main aim is not to scare you. The film is distributed by A24, arguably Hollywood’s most exciting independent company at the moment. Responsible for groundbreaking films like Room, Moonlight and intelligent horror films like The Witch. A Ghost Story may not be for everyone but it has an interesting concept, much like its predecessors.

The film stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck as a couple who are prematurely torn apart by a fatal car accident. Affleck is the victim, however he comes back as a ghost, wears a white sheet throughout and comes back to the house. The use of the white sheet is one of the films unique qualities. When you are younger and want to dress up as a ghost, what do you do? You wear a white sheet. It’s seen as more comical than truly terrifying. However there is something quite creepy about Casey Affleck’s ghost wondering the house whilst his partner tries to move on with her life. The film is very sombre and it takes his costume seriously and is all the more effective for it.

I was won over by the film eventually, however I wasn’t so sure in the first half an hour or so. The film is very slow and it is a film people have either loved or hated. There is one almost unbearable scene where Rooney Mara’s ‘M’ eats a pie until she throws up. Casey Affleck’s ‘C’ looks on. It must last for at least five minutes or so but it is a patience tester. There is a party scene where an ‘intellectual’ raves on about legacy, the universe and what will happen once the sun consumes the solar system in a few billion years. It was entertaining but a bit on the nose and was a tad unnecessary. As I mentioned earlier it has divided people and it is easy to see why.

By the end of the film and after there were a few reveals I did end up enjoying it. It is a film that makes you think and stays with you for days afterward. It its thoughtful and a brave film to be as glacial as it is. The film does look beautiful and there are some striking images, most of them involving the ghostly character. It also provides the audience with another theory about life after death which isn’t all together comforting. The whole story is really kind of tragic, as ‘C’s life is cut short before he can achieve his ambitions. Like other great slow paced films, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner etc I am sure the film will benefit with repeat viewings. A Ghost Story is a great alternative to the supernatural genre.