‘A Ghost Story’ Review: Life Moves On, But Not For A Ghost

What do you do when you have all of eternity on your hands? As it turns out, not much. In “A Ghost Story,” Casey Affleck plays C, a man who returns as a ghost after a fatal car accident. He watches, largely powerless, as his wife M (Rooney Mara) struggles through her own grief. Watches as she leaves their house behind in an attempt to move on. And watches as time passes by and new people occupy the house, slices of a life he is no longer privy to. C’s ennui and boredom are just as striking as his periods of intense frustration.

“A Ghost Story” masterfully portrays the spectrum of human grief, sadness, and isolation – all while maintaining a bare yet surprisingly haunting minimalism. Here, director David Lowery sacrifices the effects-ridden storytelling of previous project “Pete’s Dragon” for a more poignant tale. Long stretches of silence and tense stillness slip into the scenes, frightening in their own way. Affleck, arresting as the ghost C, spends much of the film under a white sheet. Even when new characters enter, imbuing some life and color into the film, they appear distant. Closed-off from the ghost, trapped in the mundanity of existence. Grief haunts every crook and cranny of “A Ghost Story,” weaving a beautifully complex tale of life after death.

Rooney Mara in A Ghost Story (2017). Photo via A24 Films

Lowery’s Minimalist Take On A Supernatural Cliche

The triumph of “A Ghost Story” is in the quiet moments, in the subtleties crafted by David Lowery’s masterful hand. Lowery packs big ideas on the enormity of existence into simple scenes – minimalism at its best. In some ways, “A Ghost Story” can be considered a journey of grief and a contemplation of existence. A weighty discussion on life and what comes after. However, Lowery takes great care with the narrative, so although the film often slows and lingers, it never drags. He intersperses the silence with new settings and characters, adding life and action while still maintaining the pensive mood. Under his direction, “A Ghost Story” transcends the cliches often riddling supernatural narratives.

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara in A Ghost Story (2017). Photo by Andrew Droz Palermo.

Casey Affleck As The Haunting, Inscrutable ‘C’

It takes a true talent to be able to portray vivid grief and longing, all while covered by a white sheet. Somehow, Casey Affleck manages it. The Oscar winner spends over half of the film as ghostly C, shuffling along under the blank sheet. A silent, expressionless vessel of grief. Yet, that isn’t quite true. Emotion pervades “A Ghost Story,” even saturates it, in fact. The musical score of Daniel Hart imbues the film with heart-wrenching pathos, lending an emotional layer to C’s eternal silence.

Somehow, through Affleck and Hart, C doesn’t just linger. He broods, rages, grieves, mourns – and always, always watches, longing for more. Perhaps for true human connection, perhaps for his old life, perhaps for an escape from death. Affleck takes the caricature of a Halloween sheet ghost and transforms it into a deeply emotional human being. One with a life—as it was—worth sharing.