July 12, 2017 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
FILM REVIEW: Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara
Co-Star in Surrealistic ‘A Ghost Story’
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
C
(Casey Affleck) and
M (Rooney Mara)
are a nondescript
young couple living
in a modest ranch house
in suburban Texas. Noth-
ing of note transpires be-
tween the happily-mar-
ried lovebirds besides
carnal canoodling inter-
rupted by things that go
bump in the night.
The next morning,
bliss turns to tragedy
when he suddenly passes
away in a car crash at the
mouth of their driveway.
Grief-stricken M is sum-
moned to the morgue
where she only lingers
long enough to identify
her husband’s body.
But as soon she leaves,
matters enter anoth-
er dimension when the
ghost of C miraculously
stands up and walks out
of the place under the
white sheet covering the
corpse. Like a homing
pigeon, the disembodied
spirit proceeds to make
his way back to his hum-
ble abode, deliberately
traipsing across a roll-
ing, verdant field to take
the most direct route.
By the way, C’s flowing
white linen covering
(with a couple of eyeholes
conveniently poked out)
has somehow been ren-
dered invisible to the
naked eye. This ghost is
mute, so there’s no “Hon-
ey, I’m home!” when he
literally walks through
the door.
M mourns, oblivious of
C’s ethereal presence, de-
spite his hovering over
her obsessively. He might
be frustrated by his in-
ability to make contact.
Or he might just want
to protect. It’s hard to
“
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
‘A Ghost Story’
might be best described
as a series of stark, shad-
owy tableaux, like an Ed-
A pretentious speculation
on loss from the perspective
of the dearly departed
tell, since he never talks.
Then, when she vacates
the premises, he stays be-
hind, and starts to spook
the new residents, as if
scaring them away might
bring his wife back.
Thus unfolds “A Ghost
Story,” a pretentious
speculation on loss from
the perspective of the
dearly departed. The tor-
toise-paced production
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Book of
Black Heroes’ Looks at
Political Leaders
ward Hopper painting
come to life.
The picture was writ-
ten and directed by David
Lowery (Pete’s Dragon),
and co-stars a couple of
consummate thespians
in Oscar-winner Casey
Affleck (for Manchester
by the Sea) and two-time
nominee Rooney Mara
(for “Carol” and “The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo”).
The pair’s considerable
talents are underuti-
lized, here, since Casey’s
hidden under a Hallow-
een costume 90 percent
of the time, and Rooney’s
character
disappears
about halfway through
the movie.
Though Casey is ear-
nest in his attempt to
convey a range of emo-
tions from under the
sheet, ultimately, it’s the
cinematic equivalent of
watching a little kid try
to fight his way out of a
paper bag.
Good HH
Rated R for brief profani-
ty and a disturbing image
Running time: 87 min.
“The
first
Afri-
can-American
polit-
ical leaders began to
serve following the Civil
War...Known as Recon-
struction, this period
represented a window
of opportunity for Afri-
can-Americans...
Many [Black] political
leaders emerged during
this period, using their
political power and in-
fluence to push for equal-
ity and justice for all
Americans... Unfortu-
nately, the Reconstruc-
tion period was short-
lived, lasting only from
1865-1877.
States in the South...
passed laws that essen-
tially took away the cit-
izenship rights of Afri-
can-Americans... These
legislative
measures
were called Jim Crow
laws.
It would take nearly
100 years and ... the Civ-
il Rights Movement be-
fore African-Americans
would again be guaran-
teed the right to vote and
hold elected office... A
new generation of Black
political leaders is active
today.
[This book] will ac-
quaint readers with lead-
ers of the past and will
introduce new ones...
Through their stories, I
hope others, especially
young people, will be in-
spired to become leaders
in their own right.”
—Excerpted from the
Introduction (pages ix-x)
D
espite the his-
toric election of
Barack Obama as
the first African
American
president,
the American Dream
See BOOK on page 8