--- title: "A Ghost Story" year: 2017 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-ghost-story" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 81 critics_reviews: 27 published: "2026-09-16T13:03:24.454849+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T13:03:24.857036+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Ghost Story (2017) Directed by David Lowery · 1h 33m · MPA R · Drama, Fantasy, Romance **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 81 from 27 reviews *In a sentence:* A bedsheet should not be able to look this lonely > David Lowery makes a sheet-clad ghost painfully lonely in this patient, affecting film about bereavement. Rooney Mara gives the grief weight, though the long pauses and a solemn speech occasionally test our goodwill. ## Synopsis C (Casey Affleck) dies suddenly, leaving M (Rooney Mara) to grieve. While M and a Doctor (Kenneisha Thompson) belong to the living world, C continues as a ghost beneath a sheet, drawn back to the house and the woman he has left behind. M tries to continue with daily life, at one point eating a pie in a prolonged stretch of solitude. C watches without being able to resume his place beside her. He stays attached to what he knew, while time keeps passing for the people still alive. ## Review *A Ghost Story* asks us to spend 93 minutes with a figure under a sheet and take his loneliness seriously. David Lowery’s film is moving, peculiar and worth the patience it asks for, although its solemnity occasionally becomes hard work. The ghost’s presence makes us think about being left behind and watching without being able to join in. That is a sound reason to make a ghost film, and the director is willing to let that waiting become uncomfortable. Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara play C and M, with little in those names to help us get to know them. Once C becomes the sheet-clad ghost, the performance has to manage without facial expressions. Annell Brodeur’s costume looks ridiculous if we stand back and consider it, yet the stillness under it gradually becomes expressive. We start looking for the smallest suggestion of a response, and the sheet gives us little help. The pie scene is where the method becomes hardest to dismiss. Rooney Mara eats for long enough that we lose the usual reassurance that a cut will arrive as soon as the point has been made. We were more upset than we expected. Her persistence at this small task makes the grief feel physically exhausting, and she does not offer a tidy expression for us to read and move on from. There is something uncomfortable about being made to watch her for so long, which seems the right discomfort. Andrew Droz Palermo’s cinematography depends on holding still, so that a body remaining in a room can become an event. The house is important here, and production designers Tom Walker and Jade Healy give it enough ordinariness to make the ghost look out of place. We recognise a space for everyday living, even with that unlikely figure occupying it. The framing leaves us time to inspect the ghost and decide that no further detail would make him more convincing. David Lowery also edits, and the changes of pace matter as much as the long takes. He lets an ordinary action consume our attention, then makes time feel suddenly difficult to measure. The effect unsettles us because we have begun to expect each moment to last, and the cuts take away that small certainty. Daniel Hart’s score is openly mournful, and works because the performances are so restrained. The music can carry feelings that the ghost has no way to show. The trouble comes when David Lowery’s writing tries to explain the questions that the images have already raised. A monologue about permanence makes the film sound more pleased with its seriousness than it has elsewhere, and we wanted it to stop spelling things out. Some of the held shots also remain held after our attention has begun to wander. We would not ask for briskness, but a few shorter holds would have kept us closer to the ghost’s loneliness. The speech is the greater interruption, because the quiet scenes have already given us plenty to think about. For a supernatural film, this is unusually willing to risk looking foolish and making little happen. Its faith in the sheet pays off because we eventually stop wondering how it is being worn and start wondering what waiting like this would feel like. That is enough to forgive the occasional lecture. Watch it when there is no need to hurry, and when a film about bereavement is something you can bear. *Fi1m score 84, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The consensus on A Ghost Story is strongly positive: most critics find Lowery’s slow, spare treatment of grief affecting, with sadness taking precedence over scares. Praise clusters around the sustained shots, the editing’s handling of time and the expressive possibilities of a ghost beneath a sheet. Mara’s stillness and the lengthy pie-eating scene draw particular attention for making bereavement painfully tangible. Several reviews also credit the music with deepening the sense of loneliness without overwhelming the quiet filmmaking. Reservations centre on the patience required by the long takes, the minimal drama and the solemnity. Most critics accept these demands, though enthusiasm varies considerably. Vulture finds the film pretentious but lovable, while Slant Magazine supplies the lone negative verdict, rejecting the long-take style as empty imitation and objecting to its treatment of minority characters. The divide is chiefly over whether the sparse storytelling earns its emotional weight. ### Reviews we read (27) - **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (3/5/4): An elegant slow-burner and one of the year’s most original films, it rewards patience with its meditation on time and loss. The unbroken five-minute pie-eating scene is singled out as mesmerising and devastating. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/a-ghost-story) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (90/100, inferred): The spare, precise film is a simple, wrenching story of love and loss that opens a window onto eternity through patient observation of grief and solitude. It maintains sincerity and poignancy even in its idiosyncratic, slow-moving approach to the haunted-house premise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ghost-story-review-20170706-story.html) - **Screen Daily** (90/100, inferred): A small, simple story told with exquisite precision and control that overflows with feeling and grace. It strips away spectacle to focus on the pain of loss through its naturalistic treatment and resonant performances. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/a-ghost-story-sundance-review/5113969.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Roger Clarke (90/100, inferred): Lowery's risk-taking film is a beautifully crafted lyrical exploration of grief and loss. The central absurdist image of the sheet-draped ghost works gracefully on every level. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-ghost-story-explores-delirium-grief) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (90/100, inferred): Lowery's film is a quietly grand romantic mystery and metaphysical vision of love, distinguished by its wildly inventive yet controlled handling of cinematic elements like time, space, and silence. Its audacious originality and sensuous splendor make it a supreme justification of the soul's existence. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/the-wildly-original-hauntings-of-a-ghost-story) - **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (90/100, inferred): The film is an ingenious and affecting story that considers whether the dead have feelings too, focusing on a ghost's experience after his sudden death. It succeeds through fresh, inventive craft despite its literary ambitions, delivering a tour de force of sensation. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/movies/review-a-ghost-story.html) - **Evening Standard**, Demetrios Matheou (85/100, inferred): Lowery delivers a mysterious, poignant and profound left-field marvel about love, grief and the passage of time that succeeds despite its absurd central image. The performances, especially Mara’s expressive stillness in grief, and the original execution are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/a-ghost-story-film-review-spirit-in-a-sheet-is-no-laughing-matter-a3682336.html) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): The film is an audacious and affecting meditation on love, loss and letting go, haunted more by sadness than fear. It features a piercingly strange exploration of grief and the passage of time beyond individual lives. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/10/a-ghost-story-review-rooney-mara-casey-affleck-david-lowery) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (85/100, inferred): Hypnotically beautiful and strange, the film explores supernatural sadness more deeply than any thriller through its cosmic scope and slow pace. The ghost’s remarkably expressive presence and Mara’s long-take pie scene stand out. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-ghost-story) - **Empire**, Phil de Semlyen (80/100, inferred): Lowery has crafted a highly unusual, emotionally shattering existential fable unlike anything else, with gentle ruminations on death, mourning and time that cast a powerful spell. The languorous pacing, long takes and vast yet intimate scope are noted as both challenging and rewarding. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ghost-story-review/) - **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (4/5): An unapologetically solemn and contemplative supernatural drama that feels all its own, soulfully scored and haunting. It combines Malick-like fluidity with eccentric atmosphere in its tale of a sheet-clad ghost’s lonely existence. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-elr31g/a-ghost-story/) - **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★): This is a profoundly moving, haunting and beautiful film that powerfully explores grief and time through its simple tale rather than cheap scares. The long takes, contemplative atmosphere and emotional impact, including a standout pie-eating scene, are highlighted. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/a-ghost-story-review-haunting-beautiful-84266) - **The Times**, Edward Porter (★★★★): The film is a thoughtful tale confronting the transience of human life, with years passing as the house endures various residents. It offers a beguiling bittersweet wallow with precise absurdity in the ghost's appearance. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/film-review-a-ghost-story-and-atomic-blonde-2p6hs5cpz) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (70/100, inferred): The critic calls it a strange and beguiling poetic meditation on time, memory, and spiritual connection that is true to its title. They single out the power of the simple sheet-clad ghost image and the film's unexpected poignancy in its final scenes. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/a-ghost-story-review-965994/) - **The Independent** (★★★☆☆): The film is a quiet, reflective supernatural meditation on life, love and bereavement rather than a conventional horror or romantic ghost story. Its oblique, still style and lyrical images gradually cast a gentle spell despite the minimal drama. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-reviews-roundup-a-ghost-story-annabelle-creation-atomic-blonde-step-the-nut-job-2-a7886516.html) - **Vulture** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the film pretentious but lovable overall, with its arty ellipses and high sentimentality. They single out the indelible image of the ghost under the sheet and Lowery's lyricism in evoking the passage of time. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/07/a-ghost-story-movie-review-pretentious-but-lovable.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Sam C. Mac (1/4): The critic dismisses it as an empty exercise in imitative long-take aestheticism with no fleshed-out meaning or dramatic incident. They single out the silly visual gag of the sheet ghost and offensive tangents involving minorities. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/a-ghost-story/) - **HeyUGuys**, Scott Davis (5/5): The critic describes the film as staggering and breathtaking, a rarity from Sundance that rewards patience despite subverting horror expectations. They highlight its emotional and visual impact as a ghost story about love, loss, and time. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/a-ghost-story-review/) - **/Film**, Ethan Anderton (9/10): The critic calls it a challenging, breathtaking independent film and a rumination on mortality, legacy, and time. They single out the mesmerizing, lengthy pie-eating scene and the haunting score for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/548860/a-ghost-story-review/) - **The Playlist**, Kevin Jagernauth (85/100, inferred): The critic finds it an odd, experimental, and mesmerizing tale unafraid of silences and inaction, praising its grand vision on legacy and impressions left on others, with the house as a key character and a standout monologue on permanence. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/ghost-story-starring-rooney-mara-casey-affleck-weaves-mesmerizing-fascinating-tale-sundance-review-20170122/) - **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a profound rumination on loneliness, loss, and time that moves simultaneously in slow motion and hyperspeed, turning a standard runtime into a version of eternity. They single out the real-time pie-eating scene as a pivotal moment testing viewer patience and the film's reversal of supernatural tropes to emphasize isolation and the out-of-body sensation of life passing. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2017/07/11/pop-culture/a-ghost-story-movie-rooney-mara-review-204b969cf8bf) - **The Wrap**, Steve Pond (85/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's ability to evoke deep emotion from a simple, seemingly comic premise of a ghost in a sheet, highlighting its graceful and beautiful portrayal of loss and acceptance. They single out the stillness of the cinematography and the evocative music for praise. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/a-ghost-story-sundance-review-casey-affleck-rooney-mara/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B+): The critic finds the film deeply sad, melancholy, and somber yet constantly fascinating, respecting its minimalist narrative and ambition even if unsure about enjoying it. They single out the inventive, tragic storytelling and the bold choice to deprive Affleck of typical acting tools after his transformation into the ghost. [Read](https://collider.com/a-ghost-story-movie-review/) - **Consequence** (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the near-wordless feature as a beautiful, quiet, delicate meditation on grief, loss, and time that lingers with clarity and grace. They single out the sustained shots, elliptical storytelling, and the way Lowery manipulates time through editing to explore the erosion of humanity and meaning in what we leave behind. [Read](https://consequence.net/2017/07/film-review-a-ghost-story/) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (80/100, inferred): The critic describes it as a hypnotic meditation on life, love, loss, and grief, commending the minimalist filmmaking and the performances, especially Mara's expression of grief. They note its personal and atmospheric quality. [Read](https://deadline.com/2017/07/a-ghost-story-review-casey-affleck-rooney-mara-video-1202126090/) - **Den of Geek**, Jules-Pierre Malartre (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's unique blend of drama and the supernatural as a moving exploration of love, loss and time, noting its slow pacing and the effective sheet ghost will not suit everyone but strongly recommends seeing it. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/a-ghost-story-review-2/) - **The Skinny**, Josh Slater-Williams (★★★★): The critic describes it as a spellbinding exploration of the passage of time, blending ghost fiction with influences like Under the Skin and 2001 in an intimate format, and notes it is rewarding though hard to fully grasp on one viewing. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/a-ghost-story-casey-affleck-rooney-mara) ## Details - **Director:** David Lowery - **Director:** David Lowery - **Writer:** David Lowery - **Cinematography:** Andrew Droz Palermo - **Editor:** David Lowery - **Music:** Daniel Hart - **Production design:** Tom Walker, Jade Healy - **Costume design:** Annell Brodeur - **Producer:** James M. Johnston, Toby Halbrooks, Adam Donaghey - **Cast:** Casey Affleck as C; Rooney Mara as M; McColm Cephas Jr. as Little Boy; Kenneisha Thompson as Doctor; Grover Coulson as Man in Wheelchair; Liz Franke as Linda; Barlow Jacobs as Gentleman Caller; Richard Krause as Mover - **Runtime:** 1h 33m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 7 July 2017 - **Genres:** Drama, Fantasy, Romance - **Budget:** $100,000 - **Box office:** $2 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_3NMtxeyfk ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free - Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, sd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *After Life* (1998): Another quiet reckoning with death, built around the memories people cannot surrender. - *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: For patient watching, an expressive house and loneliness conveyed through small movements. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md) - *Wings of Desire* (1987), Fi1m 88: Another watchful outsider longs to join the ordinary business of being alive. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/wings-of-desire.md) - *Lake Mungo* (2008): Grief and ghostly images again, with a much firmer intention to frighten. - *Personal Shopper* (2016): Bereavement makes everyday spaces uncertain, while waiting becomes an unnerving occupation. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/a-ghost-story