Ghost World
***1/2
Cinema Releases - November 16, 2001
Rated on a 4-star scale. Certificate 15. 111
minutes. Directed by Terry Zwigoff. Written by Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff;
based on the comic book by Clowes. Starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson,
Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas, Bob Balaban, Teri
Garr.
Enid graduates from high school, meanders her
way through the summer that follows, and learns two vital lessons: (1) She
doesn't, in fact, know everything; (2) Things do, in fact, change. But
"Ghost World" is not one of those "things were never the same
after that fateful summer" movies -- it refuses to follow any kind of formula,
creates specific and wonderful characters and situations, and grows in the
memory after it is finished.
The film is based on a "Daria"-esque comic cook
by Daniel Clowes. Movies with comics as source material usually crank up
the energy level and try to let us know what it's like to be miniaturised
and thrown onto the tip of a paint brush. "Ghost World" is more restrained
than that -- thoughtful and poignant, as well as hilarious.
Thora Birch stars as Enid and Scarlett Johansson
plays her best friend Rebecca. They're one of those pairs of girls who sit
on the sidelines of their high school, stuck to each other's sides and running
ironic commentaries about the shallow dopes surrounding them. The opening
scene takes place at graduation ceremony, where a born-again bimbo in a
wheelchair is giving a speech of plastic platitudes regarding youthful hope.
"I liked it better when she was an alcoholic slut," says Enid. "One little
car crash and now we're all supposed to love her."
Cruel, but true, and funny.
The town Enid and Rebecca live in provides them
with plenty of ammunition for their sarcastic remarks. Video clerks have
never heard of "8 ½", and think that their customers are asking for
"9 ½ Weeks". The 1950s retro diner has a CD jukebox playing hip-hop
pop around the clock. Loser old men hang around the local coffee bar trying
to find ways of getting free cappuccinos. Enid has to take a summer school
art class because of some technicality on her report card, and her teacher
is a space-eyed pretentious freak who embraces a trashy pile of clothes hangers
as "a powerful symbol about a woman's right to choose". The most interesting
guy in town is a nut-job who pays naked visits to the convenience store and
throws around a pair of nunchuckus.
The opening chapters see Enid and Rebecca mooching
around, making fun of what surrounds them. Then Rebecca gets a job, trying
to find a constructive way to leave behind the powerlessness of high school
life by saving up for her own apartment, while Enid is content to stick around,
pointing at things and laughing. She doesn't seem to realise the joke is
getting old.
As her alliance with Rebecca stars to falter,
Enid drifts into a friendship with a lonely heart named Seymour (Steve Buscemi),
who works as an executive in a chicken restaurant by day and catalogues his
records by night. He's a genuine loser, and knows it. Enid offers to try
and fix him up with someone, and he replies, "There's a reason why I haven't
had a date in months. And I definitely don't want to meet someone with my
interests -- I hate my interests."
All this builds into a collection of perfectly
memorable moments, which I will leave you to discover for yourself. I have
described enough already. "Ghost World" could have been goofy, but instead
it's a sharp piece of alternative filmmaking with a lot of nice little touches,
including some touching symbolism which becomes clear in the final
shot.
Birch is solid in the lead role -- hers is not
an entirely difficult character to play, but having said that, I can't think
of another actress who could have done as good a job. Buscemi is wonderful
as always, perfectly balancing Seymour's comic and dramatic qualities, sometimes
in the same line. The real shining lights of this film, though, are Terry
Zwigoff, the director, and Johansson, the supporting actress.
Zwigoff, because he found the right tone for this
material. He's a strange and smart guy -- in 1995 he released "Crumb", an
obscure documentary that became a cult classic, and now he has found a completely
original approach to the "Ghost World" cartoon. Zwigoff has said that Seymour,
who was not in the comic book, and blends into the movie just fine, is a
largely autobiographical figure, and there is a certain bittersweet curiosity
to that fact.
Johansson, because she has a harder role than
Birch and pulls it off without drawing attention to herself. The Rebecca
character has to have the same intelligence and wit as Enid, along with a
deeper level of maturity and pragmatic wisdom. She also has to stand up to
the heroine of the story and remain sympathetic. Johannsen played the kid
who lost her leg in "The Horse Whisperer" and the girl under Billy Bob Thornton's
weird wing in "The Man Who Wasn't There"; in those movies she proved she
had a memorable face and precocious talent, but in "Ghost World" she becomes
a star of independent film. She is not only skilled, but a stunning screen
presence, what with those soulful eyes, that throaty voice, that innate
grace.
I have a feeling about Scarlett Johanssen. It's
a feeling I've had before. I saw "The River Wild" and just knew there was
something that separated Curtis Hanson from other action directors. He went
on to make "L.A. Confidential" and "Wonder Boys". I saw "Seven" and could
sense that Gwyneth Paltrow would become a star. When "The Addams Family"
came out, something about Christina Ricci told me she'd be sticking around
for a while. We expect great things from Johansson, and we will get
them.
COPYRIGHT©
2001 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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