A Ghost Story - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

A Ghost Story

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
It’s that time of year again! Ghosts, goblins, ghouls, blood n gore, and good old art house dramas? Well, despite the tile and cover, A Ghost Story is about as much a horror film as Pride and Prejudice is. The story is a sweet and languid romantic look back over a man’s life and his wife’s grieving after he dies. The film is pure art house and I must warn viewers that these types of films are highly polarizing due to really only hitting a unique audience unlike your average blockbuster superhero film. There are some fantastic performances by a white sheet (sorry I couldn’t help it), as well Rooney Mara’s excellent portrayal as a grieving widow, otherwise this is best known as a moving picture. A living representation of a piece of art that you just sit back and let wash over you instead of trying to dissect a complex plot. Visuals are KEY to the experience, and in that the movie succeeds brilliantly.

The film opens up with an unnamed couple reminiscing about their home and life before they appear to be moving out of it. Casey Affleck (credited as C in the credits) is a bit reticent about leaving though, as you can tell that he has some attachment to the abode. His wife (played by Rooney Mara, credited as “M”) is obviously frustrated at C’s reticence to move, but it seems that her fears may turn out to be unwarranted. C ends up in a car accident right outside of their home and dies on the operating table. As M sobs her way back home, C stands up off the morgue table completely covered in his bedsheet with the child’s “eye holes” cut out like a fantasy ghost. The spirit wanders home where he begins to benignly haunt his old home, watching his wife grieve, move on, and even experience a high rise being built in the home that he was so loathe to depart from.

The movie has next to no dialog, but Mara and Affleck give some great performances through emotive expressions and body language more than anything else. Mara is perfect as the grieving widow, as Lowery uses some incredible shots that show little to no cuts in the editing process. Some of these are emotionally powerful, while others feel extended and drawn out with their art house nature. One in particular shows M sitting on the floor for a FULL 5 minutes just eating away her grief with a pumpkin pie. Other shots show C wandering around the house just looking at things like his emotions are detached due to not having a corporeal body.

I’m not even sure what makes the ghost so believable. The goofy costume is meant to be a wink and a nod to the old classic idea of the ghost in a bedsheet, but for some reason Affleck’s white coated form seems to be able to emote a whole range of emotions from frustration, to curiosity to downright anger at times, without ever showing his face! While I understand the intent and purpose of the languid romantic drama, the experimental art house style of storytelling feels like it went on for about 30 minutes too long. There’s a time and a place for everything, but the film feels very much like Terrence Malick decided to slow down his kinetic camera style and just focus on the nature aspect of his shot composition. This left me feeling like it just couldn’t connect emotionally no matter how hard it tried.

Lowery’s biggest storytelling device is stillness, showing us the characters and their grief and motivation through simple tranquility and languid relaxation. Nothing is every hurried or rushed through the film, and the story just unfolds as a viewing experience into the grieving life of a widow, as well as a spirit who finds his peace in the place that he never wanted to leave.




Rating:

Rated R for brief language and a disturbing image



Video:

A Ghost Story comes to Blu-ray with a highly stylized looking film that is shot in 1.33:1 (near academy aspect ratio) and then modified to have lightly curved edges to mimic old style photographs and film prints. The movie was shot using Arri Alexa cameras, and then graded heavily with a gauzy look that is faded and ever so slightly yellowed in color, as well as given the look of film grain applied over the top. The movie intentionally softens things and gives amber and earthy tones to the dimly lit picture over the course of the 92 minute run time to give it a faded and aged tone. Fine detail is solid, but blacks look a bit murky, although shadow detail remains high despite the grading and textures that David Lowery has applied to his work. It’s a good looking transfer, but intentionally created to look slightly retro and dinged up to set the ambiance.





Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is subtle, yet definitely immersive, with a strong front end that allows the soft music to flow through the main channels and back into the surrounds throughout the movie. Dialog is crisp and clean, but limited as most of the movie is spent watching the ghost walk around the place and observe his living wife doing everything from eat a pie to move a piano. The surrounds and mains get most of the work with subtle background noises bleeding in from all angle. LFE is soft and ever present, but it does come out with some power and there are a few moments where the music just throbs with low end power. I would say the movie has a perfect track for what it was intended for, and in that way it excels in ALL aspects, but the limited nature of the film’s sound design mean it won’t compare to the latest Transformers movie in terms of intensity and directional cues.




Extras:

• Audio Commentary with Director David Lowery, Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo, Production Designer Jade Healy, and Composer Daniel Hart
• "A Ghost Story and the Inevitable Passing of Time" Featurette
• "A Composer's Story" Featurette
• Deleted Scene

Final Score: ​

As much as the time of year and the cover of the movie would like to have you believe, A Ghost Story is not a horror film, and not meant to scare or make you jump. It’s a very quiet drama that is pretty much pure experimental art house. Naturally that won’t be for everyone and I can fully understand why. Even I, who loves art house films, tend to feel that the movie is overly pretentious and stylized for its own good at times. It’s one of those films where you are the target audience for the little on screen play, or you are not, and I was just sadly not one of those people. I loved the music, I loved the camera work, but the film just didn’t emotionally resonate with me as much as I hoped it would have. The audio and video are great for the intended purpose, and the extras pretty decent. Personally I would rent A Ghost Story before I purchased due to the fact that it will be a love it or hate type of experience for 99% of people.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, McColm Cephas Jr.
Directed by: David Lowery
Written by: David Lowery
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Lionsgate
Rated: R
Runtime: 92 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 3rd, 2017

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Acquired Taste

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check this out once on amazon prime/netflix.

 

[Asere]

Thank you for the review. I agree with Tripplej, I will wait for it on Netflix.
I saw the preview to this film and I told my wife I didn't like the edges cut. I get it they want to make it like some footage you find in a basement somewhere but to me that's weird.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Yup, agree with Asere and tripplej... this looks like streaming material to me. Nice review, Mike!