A Ghost Story (2017)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.