A Ghost Story is a 2017 American supernatural drama film written and directed by David Lowery and starring Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, and Will Oldham.

At a party thrown by the next occupants, a woman says she has stopped working on her novel and a man responds by claiming all creative pursuits are pointless, as the universe will eventually end.

The house next door is also torn down; the flower-print ghost, while standing amongst the ruins, says "I don’t think they’re coming" and disappears from beneath its sheet.

His life in the house repeats itself; he witnesses their last argument, and upon hearing his past self finally give in, he sits down heavily at the piano, creating the bang that had earlier startled the couple.

David Lowery had wanted to make a film featuring a man in a rudimentary ghost costume "for a while", telling Comingsoon.net: "I just loved that image.

After he thought to combine this with the idea about the ghost costume, he came up with the basic concept for the movie fairly quickly[4] and began to write the screenplay in the spring of 2016.

Lowery also used the film to work through what he termed "An existential crisis" brought on by reading an article about the possibility of a catastrophic earthquake, saying: "I was not feeling optimistic about the future of mankind.

[6] The final costume required Affleck to wear certain other garments beneath the fabric to achieve the desired look,[6] and the filmmakers found they had to resort to some "puppeteering" to keep the eyes in place.

[6] Beyond the practical constraints of the costume, Lowery also found that it impeded Affleck's ability to act, noting: "every unique physical trait as a human being was pronounced and exaggerated by this sheet over his head."

[10] Some shots of the ghost, specifically those done during pickups or reshoots, do not feature Affleck, instead replacing him with the film's art director, David Pink, who was found to have a similar build.

[11] As the filmmakers did not know how the final product would turn out,[12][13] the film was shot in secret and not officially announced until November 2016, at which point it was confirmed that Mara and Affleck were the leads.

The website's consensus reads: "A Ghost Story deftly manages its ambitious themes through an inventive, artful, and ultimately poignant exploration of love and loss.

[26] Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review, writing: "While Lowery's actual method of delivery may not be scary, it's sure to haunt those who open themselves up to the experience.

"[27] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review, writing: "A poetic meditation on time, memory and spiritual connection that is utterly true to its title.

"[29] Gary Thompson of the Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film two and a half stars out of four and wrote: "The movie is trippy and almost willfully opaque—all I can say for sure is I left A Ghost Story feeling full.