A Ghost Story (2017)

There are films that completely fly under the radar that when I read about them I have to check them out. A Ghost Story is one of those films that I once saw in the coming soon section of my Redbox app that just never came to my area which in turn also means I never got to watch the film. Now that has all changed thanks to the fact that Netflix has to step up their game in a big way and I checked it out for today. The film stars Academy Award Winner Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea) as C, a musician who has a hard time letting go of things like the house he lives in even though his wife wants to leave. One day C is in a car accident and he dies leaving him a spectre that follows his newly estranged wife back to the house that he will not spend all of eternity in as he learns to let go. The film also stars Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) as M,  Kenneisha Thompson (The Old Man & The Gun) as Doctor, Liz Cardenas (Never Goin' Back) as Linda, Barlow Jacobs (The Old Man & The Gun) as Gentlemen Caller, Sonia Acevedo (Queen Of The South) as Maria, Will Oldham (This Must Be The Place) as Prognosticator, Ke$ha (Jem And The Holograms) as Spirit Girl, Brea Grant (Halloween 2) as Clara, and the film was directed by David Lowery (Pete's Dragon).

One thing that I found super interesting about the film was the fact that time does not really exist for ghosts as seen in this film. One minute he is looking at a family living in his house in the summer, he turns one cheek, and the next it's Christmas time. I thought that was amazing because here is not willing to let go of the house until he can get that note out of the wall and it's so far into the future and the house is being knocked down. Now what does he do with his time? Does he let go? It's super interesting to see what happens in the film because he is still tied to the land and he has to start all over again. There is an article on IMDB.com that lists the ten films that influenced this one and the director breaks it down for you with each film. If you want to check that out you can do so here. There are times when there is not a lot of dialogue because he's a ghost after all and he has a sheet over him so it wouldn't make much sense, but this was a film that didn't need it. The film conveys it's thoughts through actions and through those actions you can definitely see how he is feeling. If you have a chance and you want to check out some great story telling, then head over to Netflix and watch it. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.