Ghost World FIlm Review - Coursework Example

Is the world “real”? The “Ghost World”, movie directed by Terry Zwigoff, was released in 2001. The screenplay by Daniel Clowes is based on the comicseries by the same name. It was highly acclaimed by critics; it also receives very favorable reviews from those, who have seen it, however, it did not have a great commercial success. It is centered on lives of teenage girls that just graduated from the High School and are learning to cope with their new life. Enid and Rebecca, best friend, are very different; however, they have a very similar view on the people around them.

They see the world as full of weird people, such as “Satanists”, crazy Doug, Seymour (played by Steve Buscemi), Enid’s art teacher. The girls are rebelling against everything, and decided against going to college. They are still searching. Rebecca, played by Scarlett Johansson, is a very determined girl. She is set in what she wants in life. She got a job, she is looking for a place to move in, and, she doesn’t have illusions about her friend Enid. She would like their friendship to continue, and she keeps on giving Enid a chance, however, she also is not dependent on Enid’s changing moods and proceeds with her life regardless.

In a way, her life is not much different of that of the other people. As the story develops, the girls are growing more and more apart. Enid, played by Thora Birch, is a very different character. She has her inferiority complexes, she is witty and cunning, but she is also lost and confused. She tries to conform to the rest of the world, but she really cannot fully relate to it or accept its ways. The “Ghost World” is a successful portrayal of girls’ maturing, making decisions and finding their place in life.

Actors made the world of their characters very real to the viewers - the World that not many people understand, can relate to or have an access to. The girls have their own point of view about the world, and that view is very well portrayed. They have to get jobs to be able to get an apartment. The job might not be to their liking, but we see how Rebecca conforms to it, and Enid is getting fired the very first day. The attitude toward adults and parents in particular is very well described, with Enid being at odds with her father.

Norman, played by Charles C. Stevenson Jr. an old man on the forsaken bus stop, Enid connects with him, and, when it seems all her world crumbles, she thinks of him as being the only stable element in her life, even though both times that she speaks to Norman, he tells her the same thing “that’s what you think”. Finally, the girls see people around them as dummies and losers. However, after they played a trick on one of them, Seymour, Enid discovers that this man is very deep and smart and is much more interesting than she could ever think of.

This has changed her life. The movies might be thought of as a slow moving, however the creators are keeping the viewer in suspense, and even the movie ending is left up to the viewer to decide on and interpret, it is thought provoking. But one thing is sure, Enid has hope.