Ghost World Review

"Ghost World" may well be adapted from a comic book but this US indie comedy is a million miles away from such glossy Hollywood blockbusters as "X-Men" or "Batman." The comic is a critically acclaimed underground success, and its wry left-of-centre, alternative mindset has transferred surprisingly well to the silver screen, thanks in part to comic book creator Daniel Clowes involvement as co-writer of the script. The film stars "American Beauty’s" Thora Birch as Enid, a world-weary teenager who has just graduated from high school, but already has nothing but contempt for today’s impersonal world of shopping malls and fast food outlets. As the summer goes on she has to decide exactly what she wants to do with her life; will she get a job and move into an apartment with her best friend (Scarlett Johansson) as planned, will she decide to go to art school, or will she simply carry on looking out for oddballs she can take under her wing (such as Steve Buscemi’s shy and inept 78 RPM record collector)?

Thora Birch gives a brilliant central performance as Enid, a young woman whose apparent overwhelming cynicism could so easily make her nothing more than an unlike able whiner. It’s to Birch’s credit that we see the wounded optimism at Enid’s centre, and even when she turns practically everyone against her we still care. "Ghost World" is billed as a comedy, and it will certainly put a knowing smile on your face. However don’t go along expecting another "American Pie" style dumb gagfest; this is an intelligent movie that may well not leave you with a huge grin across your face, but will stay in your mind long after you’ve watched it.