A Ghost Story

"It's all about time."

2017 1h 33m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 2,583

DramaFantasyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Recently deceased, a white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to console his bereft wife, only to find that in his spectral state he has become unstuck in time, forced to watch passively as the life he knew and the woman he loves slowly slip away.

“It's all about time.”

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Cast

Casey Affleck
C
Rooney Mara
M
McColm Cephas Jr.
Little Boy
Kenneisha Thompson
Doctor
Grover Coulson
Man in Wheelchair
Liz Cardenas
Linda
Barlow Jacobs
Gentleman Caller
Richard Krause
Mover

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Lowery
Writers: David Lowery
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $2M — a 19.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 9 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Lowery, shot by Andrew Droz Palermo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Daniel Hart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Lowery shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara and McColm Cephas Jr. carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "It's all about time.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Lowery directs. Andrew Droz Palermo behind the camera. Daniel Hart scores. David Lowery cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $2M — a 19.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 9 years ago.
4Directed by David Lowery, shot by Andrew Droz Palermo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Daniel Hart. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor David Lowery shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara and McColm Cephas Jr. carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "It's all about time.".
9IMDB entry: tt6265828 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "sadness", "house", "loss", "grief".

The technical file

Cinematography: Andrew Droz Palermo
Original score: Daniel Hart
Editing: David Lowery
Production design: Tom Walker
Costume design: Annell Brodeur
Makeup / hair: Amy L. Forsythe
VFX supervisor: Richard Krause
Sound: Johnny Marshall
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $100,000
Box office: $1,929,659
Return: 1930% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Ghost Story (2017)

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David Lowery

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Gimly2018-01-12
★ 4/10
If a movie is boring on purpose, is it still boring? Well, as it turns out: Yes. But props for trying something different. Final rating:★★ - Had some things that appeal to me, but a poor finished product.
Reno2018-02-04
★ 7/10
A love story from another dimension! I did not think what the title says was literal. I assumed some person with social-shy, wore a white cloth like a mask to confront it. Totally surprised by what I saw. Frankly, I did not like at the first. It was a boring start. I could not overcome that pie eating scene. It was damn too long for nothing. That kinds are the source of boredom. But the actress did good on that. Then what followed were amazing. I truly was not expected that. So at the end, I thought it was an average, then thought a decent and finally realised its something unique and awesome. The lesson is, the more time you give between watching the film and your opinion, the result would only get better. Well the story was so simple. A couple with their average life get affected when one of them dies in a car accident. Soon the ghost resides the house looking for a reason to stay. It is kind of a love story from another dimension. As the time passes on, things change and complicates the quest. But there's always a way to fix it, even for a ghost, so how its been done and what it is was the remaining story. The cast was good, but most of the film it was about the ghost, which could have been anybody inside the sheet. So can't appreciate particularly anyone. As I have heard, Casey did all those parts as he should be. Even though that was not a praisable performance than a simple presence. It's his second collaboration with the director along with Rooney Mara. The one question that everybody who saw it needed to be answered is what was the note says. I googled and got the Q&A with the director that says, nobody knows, not even Mara remembers what she wrote. This is one of the best films. With or without reason the story happened. But that's not the matter, instead, how cleverly, such a concept was developed and made into a film makes the interesting fact. They even did not require a higher end graphics, except in small quantity. It will gain a cult status and as the years go by, it will be considered one of best 1,000 films. So recommend it, but be patient, at least in the initial stage and take a day to give an opinion on it. Maybe reading articles about the plot if you have a doubt is good. Really a creative film! 7/10
Nathan2022-10-14
★ 9/10
A Ghost Story is one of the saddest movies I think I have ever watched. I did not have many expectations headed into this film, but I think that was for the better. The entire film makes you feels so isolated and alone. Someone a man in bedsheet in order to draw such strong emotions out of the audience. The whole experience really makes you think about your life and what it truly means. Although, with how much praise I have for the film there are some minor complaints I have. David Lowery incorporates some incredibly long shots of nothingness. I understand what he was trying to do with these shots, and they worked to an extent. But it added a sense of slowness and drag to the movie that made the pacing off. Every time the movie was about to find its pacing, a scene like this occurred and pulled me out. Regardless, I still willing to give this 4.5 stars due to the uniqueness and the emotion that I felt throughout the runtime. Score: 86% | Verdict: Excellent