Ghost World Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)March 18th, 2002
GHOST WORLD (2001) / *** 1/2
Directed by Terry Zwigoff. Screenplay by Daniels Clowes and Zwigoff, based on the comic book by Clowes. Starring Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi, Scarlett Johansson. Running time: 111 minutes. Rated AA for offensive language by the MFCB. Reviewed on March 17th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Perpetual outsiders Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson) are friends who have just graduated high school. Rebecca looks forward to them getting jobs and finding an apartment. Enid, stuck in a summer school art class, doesn't know what to look forward to. Enid's life changes, however, when a prank brings her in touch with Seymour (Buscemi) a hapless thirty-something record collector.
Review: By the nature of the medium, a comic book's success rests largely with the artist: a great story poorly drawn will be appreciated by few. But the comic book author does have control over his work's dialogue, and the best writers -- from Alan Moore to Dave Sim -- have elevated it to an art form all its own. That "Ghost World" began as a comic book is hardly surprising: this is a movie which celebrates dialogue. And not quirky, Tarantino-esque dialogue; Clowes and Zwigoff aim for realistic lines which speak to the heart of their characters. In "Ghost World", a few words are worth a thousand pictures. Consider Enid's depiction of Seymour: "He's the exact opposite of all the things I hate." This captures in a nutshell their oddball relationship, and it also illustrates the key fact that Enid knows everything she doesn't like, but none of the things she does. Birch and Buscemi are excellent, inhabiting their outsider characters without making them pathetic or cartoonishly weird. If "Ghost World" has a flaw, it's in its handling of Rebecca. Johansson's performance is good, but she vanishes from too much of the movie. Enid and Rebecca are two sides of the same coin: they start off at a common point, and their lives diverge over the course of the film. Without more insight into Rebecca, "Ghost World" is missing the one extra dimension which would have made it truly superb.
Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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