Ghost: Review By Daveactor7

A film that wraps around the realms of fantasy, drama, romance, and suspense-this film has it all and it certainly is a classic.

The story-Sam Wheat has it all: being a successful businessman, many loving friends, and his love Molly. His entire life seems to stay perfect until his life is taken from him by a single bullet. His spirit stays on Earth, trying to seek justice and protect Molly. With the help of a psychic Oda Mae Brown, his search for justice will take twists and turns and ultimately define love. A truly sensational story that captivates not only our minds, but the imagination within our minds. Screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin conceived a script that captures the realism of life and yet blends it with his imagination, bringing forth a script that is original and very interesting. It is no surprise that he won the oscar for best screenplay.

The acting-the late Patrick Swayze gives his best performance as Sam Wheat and he does so well in bringing out so much from his character that we can actually relate with his character. His aching love for Molly helps to drive our emotions and it certainly makes the audience stick and support his character. Demi Moore plays Molly Jensen and she does great as well. Her character is a very intriguing one. Unlike other female characters involved in a romantic film, she really does well in conveying its effects on her character. After Sam's death, she does well in conveying a depressed and a greatly changed woman who seems to have lost the will to love. One scene I loved was when she sat atop of the staircase, fumbling with a glass jar full of coins. She lets go of the jar and it falls onto the stairs, shattering and sending the coins all over the floor below. This shows what her life is like now after Sam had gone. Her life has crashed, shattered. Tony Goldwyn plays Carl, Sam's friend, and he does a great job in playing a double sided character. One side that full embraces friendship and love and the other side one that embraces greed and evil. A great contrast to put into one character and for that, he makes a very intriguing character. The best in the entirety of the cast is Whoopi Goldberg, who gives an oscar winning performance as the psychic Oda Mae Brown. Her character is a psychic who rips people off of their money, but then when she starts hearing Sam, the gift is real. There is no hoax. She does well in developing from an uptight character into a character who starts to care for others. Overall, this is one of the best casts I have ever seen and they do well in keeping the film interesting and full of life.

The directing-Jerry Zucker does a great job in bringing Rubin's excellent screenplay to the big screen and he certainly understands what the story is about. He seems to put some of his own experiences with love into the film as well, bringing out more realistic situations and feelings. He also brings great performances out of each of his actors and he keeps that performance throughout the film. Great work.

The visuals-the special effects are good for that time period. I did like how Sam and other spirits interacted with people and the environment in which they go through them. It was obviously fake though as you can tell due to the outlining of each of these characters as they passed through objects. The outlining of the characters show that they are not actually there. Good work nonetheless. Cinematography in this film is great. Cinematographer Adam Greenberg does so well in conveying emotions from various shots and angles that it helps us to understand the story more deeply as well. The shot I loved the most is at a low angle when Molly lets the glass jar slip and shatter on the stairs. Each step represents how far up in life she was and the glass jar that shatters over that staircase represents how her life is turning out now. Her life is shattered is what it is representing.

The score-Maurice Jarre and Alex North do a great job with the music for this film and they create a somewhat memorable theme that not only conveys emotion, but it also brings about a haunting sense about the film. I love the ending scene in which Sam is about to ascend into the afterlife and he is saying his last goodbyes to Molly and Oda Mae. The music truly made the scene feel more beautiful and saddening.

The film editing-Editor Walter Murch does a great job in keeping the consistency of the film and he does well in keeping the symbolism of each genre of the film: suspense, drama, comedy, into each cut and transition. One scene I liked was when Sam wrestles with his would be murderer in an alleyway. The cuts are well done and when Sam is shot, we don't see him struck by the bullet, but all we see his spirit running after the fleeing culprit. By this time, we still do not even know that he is dead until he himself approaches his dead body.

Overall, this film is a near masterpiece and it is one of the best films of the 90s.

This has been another review by daveactor7 :)