Review of A Ghost Story (2017) by Bernadette B — 30 Jan 2018
Tried so hard to be patient with this, as we like both of the actors and hoped for something special. We gave it 20 minutes of our attention because as one reviewer said, it felt like the long scenes were pretentious in their attempts to be artsy.
I didn't feel that one of the first scenes where they jump out of bed because they heard a loud noise made any sense, as her reaction (or perhaps it was the director's choice of angle of the shot), did not convey any real fear, and only when they got into bed did she say "my heart is pounding'.
I would think the scene or the acting should have conveyed that, like any normal person would, and you shouldn't have to tell the audience that because the portrayal did not show it. After that, when she saw his body, again, not a normal reaction.
No tears? No last kiss? No hug or emotional/physical reaction before leaving him there? And just long shots of a white sheet before exposing his face. Then a prolonged shot before he moved where you wondered if the DVD froze or something.
We are not seeking immediate gratification, and enjoy "deep" movies, but I just felt like this was a reckless use of the viewer's time and patience, so once the sheet covered Afflect was spotted in different rooms, we knew it was not something we felt like wasting any more time watching.
In some ways, it's like a good book, if the writer doesn't grab you early on, despite the amazing reviews it might have garnered, I don't appreciate wasting my time on something that bores me to tears until it finally does something worth reading or watching.
Foreign films, even without subtitles are the perfect example of imagery and acting that convey what they want you to experience, even if you don't fully understand it at first. They are usually done well enough that you appreciate the effort they took to convey their meaning with wonderful actors/music and imagery that evoke their emotions.
Watching this made me feel sorry for anyone that might have paid money in a movie theatre to see.
This review of A Ghost Story (2017) was written by Bernadette B on 30 Jan 2018.
A Ghost Story has generally received positive reviews.
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