Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

The test: ‘A Ghost Story’ — art or pretense?

Dan Webster

Yeah, it's likely that most people will flock to "The Emoji Movie" when it opens on Friday. But the more interesting choice probably would be "A Ghost Story," which opens at AMC River Park Square and is attracting the kinds of positive reviews reserved for most films that premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and get purchased for wider release.

Written and directed by David Lowery, the film stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck.

Here is a sampling:

Dave McGinn, The Globe and Mail: "If you’ve ever loved anyone or anything, 'A Ghost Story' is going to break your heart. It is devastating – and devastatingly good."

A.O. Scott, The New York Times: "Starting with a quote from Virginia Woolf, it wears its literary pedigree on its sleeve, yet it manages to feel fresh and inventive rather than stale or studied. It’s like an old tale by Saki or Henry James read for the first time: hair-raising and clever, a tour de force of sensation and a triumph of craft."

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: "Lowery pushes the tropes of the haunted house film past the breaking point, creating something that is entirely original — and oddly, if not profoundly unsettling."

Considering mainstream tastes, though, one critic in particular puts the film in its proper perspective with an age-old observation:

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: " 'A Ghost Story' may be the ultimate litmus test of where you fall on the line between artistic merit and laughable pretension." (To be fair, Goodykoontz goes on to argue in the film's favor.)

Can't wait to find out for myself.