An adventure in mundanity that makes excellent use of the tension between those two words. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints writer-director David Lowery reteams with that film’s stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara for the story of two lovers whom death doesn’t quite part. How Affleck passes isn’t terribly important; what matters is why he declines to walk into the light, and instead takes up residence under a sheet (with the requisite black and melancholy eyeholes) in the home he shared with his beloved. Question for discussion: are places haunted, or people? The film voices one opinion, but maybe makes room for another. As with that earlier effort, composer Daniel Hart does a lot to keep the drama alive under the prosaic progression of events (mourning, moving, Christmas, conversation, destruction, construction, etc.) until Lowery delivers his looping haymaker of a finish. The film will likely test your patience despite its brief runtime; but if you can endure Rooney Eats a Pie, you may find something of your own on which to chew. (2016) — Matthew Lickona
This movie is not currently in theaters.