Diary of a Ghost Short Film Review

alexjames96
Aug 21
2 min read

★★★★★

Starring: #GenevieveChenneour, #AdamFrith, #AlfieNoble, #MiaRodgers

Directed by Caroline Jajny, Diary of a Ghost focuses on the theme of grief and loneliness, more specifically prolonged grief. No one can truly determine how long it is ‘acceptable’ to grieve someone close to you, however, it is difficult to place a time limit on something that can affect people so differently. For protagonist Sage, this grief feels like the weight of the world over the loss of her boyfriend, Riley. This deep sadness brings forth a lot of other emotions and forces Sage to isolate herself and remain rooted in the past, unable to escape the dark and terrifying memories. Instead of reliving the happy moments, she becomes fixated on his death and begins to lean into this trauma further by religiously writing in a grief journal as some form of comfort. A very real and powerful story that not only is touching but delves into a very important subject that many of us experience and yet perhaps are afraid to discuss. The complexities of grief are so vast, and Diary of a Ghost explores just how much it can overwhelm many aspects of your life.

We are introduced to Sage Evans, a stranger knocks on her grandmother’s door to check the meter, however, we quickly learn that her grandmother is now in a hospice leaving Sage alone in her house with nothing but her thoughts. Trying to distract herself, she meets with an old friend, but it was clear her mind was elsewhere. Their interaction inevitably leads to speaking of the past and in turn causes the flooding back of memories of her partner. Her friend assumes that she should be moving on at this point, given that it had been a year since the incident. But time almost stands still when faced with a traumatic loss and its as if everything around Sage is insignificant and she cannot find pleasure in anything anymore, even having a few drinks at the pub with friends. Actress Genevieve Chenneour conveys this feeling of heartache in a very realistic and moving way, there is a strong understanding of what it means to be stuck in this deep emotional pit, her commitment to the role is apparent and extremely moving.

Diary of a Ghost is a creative and honest representation of prolonged grief and focuses on the individual and often how difficult it is to convey to others how painful and consuming grief can be. This narrative shows that not everyone can pull themselves out of this emotion so easily and very much remain in the past, unable to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, many people unfortunately dwell and surrender to this emotion. For Sage, this diary kept her very much stuck in one place and the seclusion only pushed her further into this inescapable pain. A film that many can relate to, as it highlights the dangers of just what can happen when trapped in a state of despair.