It is time for me to get back into movie reviewing! Gonna keep these short, maybe around 300-400 words. Will be following the same process I use with my game reviews (as in, just noting some outstanding pros + cons with the movie rather than going full analysis mode). Also will always avoid spoilers (going to be a bit more difficult for movies, but I will try!).

The first third or so of A Ghost Story had me wondering why so many people loved the movie. It was not until the latter half of the movie that I finally understood the film’s genius.

Pros:

Fitting soundtrack. The soundtrack for the movie, composed by Daniel Hart, was excellent. The majority of the soundtrack is made up of more mellow tunes, fitting with the movie’s overall theme, that of time. The standout vocal track, titled “I Get Overwhelmed”, is an excellent change of pace compared to the rest of the soundtrack, yet still has its place amongst the rest. My favorite track ended up being “Safe Safe Safe”.

The Ending. Without spoiling, I will just say that the events leading up to the ending tied up the film quite nicely. It suddenly made sense as to why the beginning of the movie was so slow. It was worth watching through, just for that feeling of “wow”.

Cons:

Excessively long, drawn-out scenes. While the long, drawn-out scenes towards the beginning of the movie make sense in retrospect, it does not change the fact that they were a bore to watch. If I were to have watched this in theaters, I could easily see people leaving the theater during some of those scenes. In fact, there is an entire single-shot sequence of a character eating pie that lasts nearly six minutes. Just six minutes of pie-eating, nothing else. No dialogue, music, nothing. Just the character eating pie. It feel that the scene could have worked just fine lasting maybe two or three minutes, but six? That is a bit excessive.

The aspect ratio. I understand why the director went with such an aspect ratio, but I feel that the film really just did not need it. The whole “being trapped in a box” feeling that the aspect ratio was supposed to convey just did not resonate with me. The aspect ratio really did not add anything to the experience, but it did not feel like it was taking anything away either. It just felt like a useless addition.

It is a great movie overall, you just have to bear with it for the first half. Once past that point, it just keeps getting better. Do not think I have ever seen a movie that tackles the concept of time the way that A Ghost Story did, it truly was a unique experience, especially with all of its weird quirks.

Score: 8/10