Ghost World (2001) Reviews

Adapted from the 1990s graphic novel series by Daniel Clowes, 2001's Ghost World is a wonderful, deadpan, darkly comedic depiction of post-high school teenage angst with its inherent ups and downs. Clowes was involved in adapting his comic for the big screen, collaborating with director Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, Bad Santa) on the screenplay that received an Academy Award nomination. Eschewing traditional Hollywood teen comedy conventions, Ghost World is a refreshing and unusual film in its conception and execution; it's challenging to predict each story development, and the film concludes on a deliberately ambiguous, open-ended note that leaves room for interpretation.


After graduating from high school, best friends and misanthropic social outcasts Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) have no plans for their future beyond finding jobs and living together. Refusing to follow the crowd, college is not on the cards for Enid or Rebecca, who struggle to define themselves and despise everything popular. While Rebecca gets a job working at a coffee house, Enid finds it challenging to let go of the comfort of adolescence, floating aimlessly through life as she spends most of her time at a remedial art class that she must pass to obtain her high school diploma. Enid cannot hold a job for long and begins a semi-romantic relationship with a timid jazz fan named Seymour (Steve Buscemi), who is much older than her and cannot connect with other people. Enid is fascinated and intrigued by the lonely Seymour, and she tries to help him find love to fill the void in his life. However, Enid and Rebecca's different priorities and diverging lives begin to take a toll on their friendship, while Seymour finding a girlfriend threatens to drive him away from Enid.

Ghost World is not a heavily plot-driven movie, and Zwigoff maintains an unhurried pace as he observes Enid refusing to find a purpose in life and listlessly meandering while Rebecca successfully adapts to adult life. The narrative's distinct rhythm, which does not exactly conform to a regular three-act structure, reflects the vagueness of adult life after high school, with Enid defiantly remaining in her rut while things change and progress around her. In many ways, the film is about the challenges of teenagers finding their own post-adolescent identity; Enid and Rebecca define themselves by mocking people who conform to society's expectations but are in danger of becoming the same type of people they are ridiculing. With a focus on themes and mood instead of plot, Ghost World is mainly about the oddball characters and their witty interactions, and the picture soars in this respect. As expected from the director behind 2003's Bad Santa, laughs are frequent throughout Ghost World, from uproarious non-sequiturs (including a heated confrontation between a store owner and a shirtless patron) to cutting, sarcastic one-liners. The dialogue is also insightful, exploring loneliness and geekiness, and the film gleefully satirises the pretentiousness associated with the art world.


The characters inhabiting Ghost World are not easy to categorise and do not conform to recognisable character types. Additionally, the characters miraculously feel like three-dimensional people instead of caricatures, with the screenplay allowing ample breathing room for dramatic scenes and character development. Credit also goes to the actors, who brilliantly bring these people to life. Birch and Johansson are an ideal leading pair, with both young actresses nailing their characters' cynical and misanthropic dispositions while coming across as authentic instead of caricaturish. With Birch emerging as the film's protagonist, she has the most to work with, and she portrays Enid's various characteristics and quirks without missing a beat. In addition to her pronounced quirkiness and bitter sarcasm, there is an underlying sense of melancholy, with the film's events taking an emotional toll on Enid. Meanwhile, Buscemi makes for a pitch-perfect Seymour. Buscemi is a superb character actor, and this might be his finest performance to date. Modelling his character's appearance and interests after director Zwigoff, Buscemi wholly immerses himself into the role with distinct mannerisms, line deliveries and body language. Withdrawn, awkward, and painfully shy, it's a transformative performance and the furthest thing from a traditional romantic lead. According to Zwigoff, Buscemi found playing the character of Seymour so uncomfortable that he immediately changed his clothes after filming wrapped each day.

From a technical perspective, Ghost World is comparatively basic, with unspectacular cinematography and little in the way of visual flourishes. Indeed, Zwigoff mostly lets the actors and the sharp dialogue speak for themselves, and the picture's somewhat drab appearance, which is deliberately reminiscent of the comic book, may not appeal to film-goers accustomed to slick, vibrant digital photography. Your mileage may vary. However, the picture excels in the brilliantly intuitive editing and the soundtrack, with oddball old jazz records almost omnipresent whenever characters spend time in Seymour's home. There is melancholic original music courtesy of composer David Kitay, but the soundtrack is primarily diegetic, comprising of vintage, atmospheric blues tracks.


With its laid-back pacing and unconventional characters, Ghost World is not for all tastes, and it makes for a refreshing change from other, more formulaic teen movies. Not everything works, and it is easier to appreciate than outright love, but this overlooked gem nevertheless deserves your attention, especially if you enjoy thoughtful character-based movies with sharp and insightful dialogue.

7.9/10

Deservedly cult film and more cult deserves the wonderful Bollywood clip of the beginning. Enid/Thora Birch is the soul of all it, and her ability of become engages with oddities as Buscemi is the only thing worth living, worth moving for her.

La película es tan orgullosamente irónica, hipster, realista y peculiar que es perfecta. Es definitivamente una cinta ingeniosa y con tintes de historieta, un viajecito por este mundo al cual nos identificamos, siendo parte o fuera de el. Muy buena cinta.

I am pretty sure that I was retarded up until this point for not having watched this. It honestly is one of the best teenager movies there has ever been created in modern cinematography, as far as I’m concerned.

Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch and Scarlett Johanson and all the rest of the characters are so dorky and awkward and adorable at the same time that I coud barely stand it. The cinematography, the old feel to it, the dialogues and the natural way the characters interact with each other just make it a wonderful movie. In no other movie have I seen apathy turned into something nice and so human as in Ghost World.

The mixture between the retro feel of the entire movie and the modern, if I can say so, attitudes that the characters have, is simply awesome and it kept me watching without even hitting the pause button once. And I always hit it because I always have to smoke during a movie. Well this time I just sat there from start to finish loving on the whole movie and unconditionally loving on the characters. I also loved the ending and the symbolism in the final sequences.

I super gladly recommend it and I would super gladly watch it again.

I thought a scathing story of teens of all types and at all irrelevant, since as the action takes place, are joining curious proposals and emotional density.

It is difficult to foresee what is going to end the relationship between the two friends when players are faced with the situation of having to start taking charge of their own lives after completing their studies. The changes that inevitably occur (new relationships, situations and social environment) test their apparently close ties of friendship and is at this point that the film delves subtle but very effective in the field of testing and even battle fronts everywhere representing any teenager.

If one adds that the film has its good acid humor, but humor-after all, you get a pretty powerful bomb fantastic director of documentary "Crumb".

Ah, I waited more than couple years before I could see this movie again. Just couple days ago I finally discovered its name. After seeing it again wasn't disappointed at all.
"Ghost world" is a story about Enid - girl, who wasn't like the other teenagers. She is strange indie girl. And it's hard to say what's on her mind. But she's everything I like, with no lies or fake masks of "good". She does what she want no matter what.

While I had seen Scarlett Johansson before in other movies, this was the first one where I had actually "fallen in love" with her.
I always liked Dan Clowes' comics. His work definitely subscribed to the idea of having a "style that was all his own". And for my money, this style fits in even more effectively in the medium of film than it does in the comicbook version of what is known as the "alternative" genre (a genre that his printed works mold into quite successfully). Dan Clowes' movies bring a well-welcomed shot of something new & different to watch just as effectively as his comics bring to the experience of reading.