Eye For Film >> Movies >> Ghosts (2010) Film Review
Ghosts
Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode
Two men are sitting in a room - at least we assume they are, because we can hear their voices.
All we can see is what the camera sees, and the camera has been placed on a window ledge, looking out at the night. It's an unremarkable urban scene. Cars and buses pass by. There's a petrol station. People walk along the pavements and greet one another. Only halfway through the film do we realise that one of the men didn't realise the camera was there. The other won't let him touch it. He's waiting for something. He's obsessive. What can this be?
It's an interesting premise with lots of potential but the dialogue isn't quite strong enough to sustain the first half and the mystery element is too vague, offering too many possibilities; the script lacks focus. There's the germ of a good idea here, but the film feels like a rough cut. The necessary psychological tension just doesn't build the way it needs to. The overall impression is of a director taking on a complex project which he just doesn't have the experience to handle at this stage in his career.
Reviewed on: 11 Jan 2012