Review of Ghost World (2001) by Deb K — 18 Sep 2011

If I loved Thora Birch before watching this film for her performance in American Beauty, and if I loved Steve Buscemi for playing Tony Blundetto on The Sopranos and Nucky Thompson on Boardwalk Empire... now I loved them both even more.

This is a very special movie. It looks and smells like a comedy, and though it has certainly some quirky dark humor, I wouldn't define it as such. For me it felt more like a drama, a very special one disguised as a "teen comedy", which nowadays is a clichà (C) stupid subgenre, and this masterpiece is miles away from that.

Thora Birch's character was one of the most fascinating female characters I've ever seen in a film. The script is a work of art, and that character is the main protagonist of the story. Steve Buscemi plays a very lonely middle-aged man, single, obsessed with blues and jazz from the beginnings of the XX century. His character and Birch's have a lot of things in common, and the film portrays their relationship in an unique and beautiful way. They both learn from each other and grow up with each other, but in the end, each one goes on its way.

On the other hand, Scarlett Johansson plays a role which was important in the beginning, but then its spot was replaced by Buscemi. There's also an important change in Johansson's character personality, and the contrast it makes with Birch's.

The film is a story of youth, adulthood, love, friendship and mostly about finding a place in the world. It is much more deeper than it seems and the final scene was a superb metaphor for what the film tries to tell, and it did masterfully.