A Ghost Story

Writer/director David Lowery offers up an unusual ghost story focused on loss and longing. We open with Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara as a loving couple never referred to by name. After tragedy strikes, he returns from the grave in the form of a traditional ghost (complete with a white sheet from the morgue and two black eye-holes). Silent and unseen, our ghost watches life move on without him as he can only occasionally have minimal effect on his environment.

The film is mostly silent, other than for a few flashback scenes where the actors attempt to out-mumble each other and later dialogue by other occupants of the house. We never get a sense of just how much the ghost knows or understands. He is searching for something, but how much of his life does he remember? Is it a feeling? A distinct memory? Or more? Presented from the ghost's point-of-view, A Ghost Story is far more than a traditional haunted house tale. That alone makes it worth a look, although I can see it annoying some viewers.

[Lionsgate, Blu-ray $24.99 / DVD $12.96]