A WARNING: THE first half of A Ghost
Story is so lethargically paced that you’ll begin to
wonder precisely where the ‘motion’ in ‘motion
picture’ went. To wit: there’s a static scene where
Rooney Mara’s M does nothing but eat a pie for
what feels like 45 minutes straight, and another
where the camera fixes on the body of the
deceased C (Casey Affleck) in a hospital for an
interminably long period of time. At times it feels
like an endurance test, as if writer-director David
Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints)
is positing to the audience “This is an Art Film
presented in unorthodox 1:33:1 framing — now,
how far can we push your tolerance levels in the
name of capital-A Art?”
The fact that there’s little in the way of story,
to begin with at least, doesn’t help. There’s
intimate, softly spoken domestic scenes between
husband C and wife M as the pair discuss
moving from their ramshackle suburban home,
sleepy canoodling in bed and noodling with
audio equipment as C makes music seemingly
only intended for he and M to hear.
It’s not giving anything away to reveal that
the couple’s domestic bliss comes to a tragic end
when C is killed in a car accident, after which he
reanimates as a ghost — a ghost, it should be
said, who is presented in the classic ‘person
under a bedsheet with the eyes cut out’ guise. C’s
ghost moves silently, slowly, deliberately, quietly
observing his surroundings as months and years
begin to pass as if mere seconds. M moves out;
new inhabitants come and go (including Will
Oldham as the ‘Prognosticator’, who delivers an
epic monologue about the futility of trying to
establish any kind of lasting legacy on Earth).
But here’s the thing: sit through the languid
first half and you’ll be richly rewarded with a
compelling, poetic and poignant latter half that
will make every drawn out second seem
completely worth it. Not only does A Ghost Story
start to take (admittedly hazy) shape once it hits
its midpoint by transforming into something
truly beguiling (C’s ghost also morphing from an
almost comical figure to a forlorn, deeply
emotive presence), but by its heart-rending
conclusion it pulls off the rather neat trick of
completely reframing the slow beginning and
infusing it with new layers of meaning. To go
into detail about precisely how the film shifts
gear would only rob it of its slow-burn magic as
it delicately explores themes of love, loss, grief
and the inevitable forward march of time.
Lowery and co-conspirators Affleck and
Mara completed the film under a veil of secrecy
— the agents of all three were unaware it was
even being made — and their commitment to this
low-key experiment is what brings the film to life.
By letting go, the trio have brought to light one
of the questions most worth asking in life: what
exactly are we holding onto that is keeping us
from moving forward in our lives? C may be a
passive observer in his own story; A Ghost Story
compels you not to follow suit. JAMES JENNINGSVERDICT A Ghost Story may not be for all, but
those willing to take the journey are promised a
meditative and moving experience that, yes,
haunts long after you’ve left the cinema.A GHOST STORY
DIRECTOR David Lowery
CAST Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham
PLOT After musician C (Affleck) dies in a car
crash, his ghost returns to haunt the home he
shared with now grieving wife, M (Mara).
OUT NOW
HHHHH RATED M / 90 MINS
MAUDIE
HHHHH
OUT 24 AUGUST / RATED PG / 116 MINS
DIRECTOR Aisling Walsh
CAST Sally Hawkins, Ethan HawkeFIRST-TIME FEATURE director Aisling
Walsh reunites with her Fingersmith star
Sally Hawkins in this tender true tale of the
romance of eccentric Canadian artist Maud
Dowley and emotionally stifled fishmonger
Everett Lewis (Hawke). Shot in Newfoundland
and Labrador, the beautiful locations give
striking context for a story that is suffused
in sadness. Maud — arthritic, abandoned and
nursing the pain of losing her daughter —
becomes Everett’s housekeeper after
answering an ad, and after a challenging
start a quiet, undemonstrative kind of love
develops. Like the central pair’s romance, it’s
a slow-burn, unshowy film, with nuanced
performances from Hawkins and Hawke,
who make this unconventional but delicately
moving relationship ring perfectly true. LBKILLING GROUND
HHHHH
OUT 24 AUGUST / RATED MA15+ / 88 MINS
DIRECTOR Damien Power
CAST Harriet Dyer, Ian Meadows, Aaron
Glenane, Aaron Pedersen, Tiarnie Coupland,
Maya Stange, Stephen HunterTHERE’S NO QUICKER way to take the ‘thrill’
out of ‘thriller’ than telegraphing to the
audience 90 per cent of what lays ahead.
Such is the case with Killing Ground, the
debut feature from Australian writer-director
Damien Power. Upfront we’ve seen couple
Sam (Dyer) and Ian (Meadows) get on the
radar of seedy local no-goods German
(Pedersen) and Chook (Glennane) on the way
to a remote camping spot, making sure we’re
aware they have no phone reception before
they get to said isolated locale (and get a flat
tyre, because of course). What transpires is
escalating violence that makes you question
how this kind of grim sadism can be read as
anything approaching entertainment. TS