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Ernest
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 6, 2023
I discovered this excellent short story after watching "We Have a Ghost", a recent Netflix movie that defies genre. The closest I can call the film is a mystery wrapped up in an engaging story with more than its share of realism, despite the family's perhaps-unexpected initial reactions to meeting the ghost. The short story takes this unorthodox view and explores it deeply right away, while the film builds atmosphere and lays out a bit more groundwork in advance of the first meeting.
Ernest was published in Vice in 2017, and it is concise, well-made, and endearing. The movie approaches the mystery and the second half of the story a bit differently, but the elements are all there, and I love how the heart of an unusual story was written very well into a screenplay that gathers a few extra elements to round it out and make audiences laugh and cry more deeply than I think the story on the page did alone. Still, I felt this story, and even as a standalone project (much less a film with the highly-expressive David Harbour in one of the lead roles), this pulled at my heartstrings and made me long for the upcoming resolution. This story has a satisfying conclusion, made even better on film by the small group of actors making up the core cast.
My suggestion is to read the short story in full AND watch the film when you can. Neither will ruin the joy of the other, in either order.
Ernest was published in Vice in 2017, and it is concise, well-made, and endearing. The movie approaches the mystery and the second half of the story a bit differently, but the elements are all there, and I love how the heart of an unusual story was written very well into a screenplay that gathers a few extra elements to round it out and make audiences laugh and cry more deeply than I think the story on the page did alone. Still, I felt this story, and even as a standalone project (much less a film with the highly-expressive David Harbour in one of the lead roles), this pulled at my heartstrings and made me long for the upcoming resolution. This story has a satisfying conclusion, made even better on film by the small group of actors making up the core cast.
My suggestion is to read the short story in full AND watch the film when you can. Neither will ruin the joy of the other, in either order.
February 25, 2023
I would go for 3 and a half stars. I read this after seeing the movie. I just didn't know it was based on a short story. The story felt unemotional to me. The characters felt real. The family felt like people from today who would do the same thing to take advantage of a situation. I enjoyed the pace of the story but question some of the interaction with the ghost. I guess everyone can turn their characters into their own version without following along with what the 'standard' should be.
January 31, 2023
Great short story about family who find a ghost and rather than be scared make the ghost a celebrity, looking forward to the netflix film version
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews