Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Thomas Hobson, Phil Morris, Tara Perry, Tim Blake Nelson, Angela Bettis, David Arquette, David Aaron Baker, Joseph Rudd, Neva Howell, Brandon Gibson, Scott Dean, Graham Gordy, Ed Lowry, Skylar Olivia Flanagan, Aaron Preusch, Taylor Alden, Corbin Pitts, Skylar Elyse Philpot, Tommy Terry Pantera Wageman, John Perry.
If the rest of the world believes that British cinema harks back to the events and critical moments of World War Two for inspiration, then it could be argued that the American Civil War holds the same type of sway and thought for those across the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.
This is not to be judgemental but a true observation of Time, and the reason being is not to glorify the event itself but to show that the people of those lands are not yet reconciled with the enormity of the politics, the survival, and the division each historical consequence was to unveil.
Time has not healed the sheer depth of feeling, the fierce nature of conviction on both sides of the argument, of the clash of ideology, and the like-minded belief of two of the antagonists in the wars; it is no wonder that Ghosts Of The Ozark lays its considerable and intelligent writing and production firmly in the aftermath of a war that still resonates and divides its large populace; and whilst right minded thinking people understand the harm and fear pushed on to the north American nation threatened to not only split their country, deep down they know the apparent peace is hanging on by a bitter, fragile, thread.
The film itself owes perhaps much to M. Night Shyamalan’s 2004’s The Village in that what is to be feared is not the monster in the dark, but the myth built up around it, what is done for protection is a jail, a prison, albeit one in the open and with the allusion of freedom.
The film, directed by Matt Glass and Jordan Wayne Long, and with writing from one of the film’s stars, the superb Tara Perry, is intricate, it faces up to the sense of the ideal that comes with a freedom based on the capitulation to dread, and is in itself a mirror of what the world now faces as we struggle to reconcile the need to keep The Ukraine free and the call that some will make in which to abandon it so that world can find a sense of gas lit freedom to keep the fires burning and the lights on.
What is freedom for one is not the same for another, and as Thomas Hobson gives a dramatic and powerful performance as the new doctor in the town and Civil War survivor, James McCune, the ever cinematically polished Tim Blake Nelson as the blind barman Torb, and Tara Perry as Annie, the beauty of the film is in its harrowing past, the reconciliation sought and the truth of the deceit exposed, and whilst the dynamic of the film is based in its ability to sew itself into the echo and misery of the war, it stands as if it could easily blend into modern day acceptance.
Ghosts Of The Ozark will surprise you, a film with little fanfare can often lead you into the realm of memorable pleasure and long lasting intrigue; this is majesty of this production, and one that the viewer will not forget.
Ian D. Hall