The narrative is very sparse, but Lowery is able to elevate and captivate through his masterful execution, visual poetics, and his choice to let the important moments play out. The lynchpin for the film, in my opinion, comes early; it's a long take (featured briefly in the trailer) of Affleck and Mara lying in bed together. The camera sticks on them for several minutes, as they groggily embrace and share some sleepy kisses and affection -- it's a moment that solidifies their relationship and feeling toward one another; it's an honest, real moment, and it can be deeply felt by the viewer.

Another example of this is Mara eating an entire pie she receives shortly after Affleck's passing, which serves as a very potent symbol of grief and loss. Each stab of the fork in the pie tin gets more aggressive and destructive as the shot lingers on Mara as she shovels forkful after forkful into her mouth at increasing intervals, barely allotting time to chew, while the ghost watches in the background.

Lowery builds poetic symbolism through things that are meant to be shared, such as the pie or a bed, which makes Affleck's loss and Mara's grief feel all the more real. All of this feeling is reinforced by the film's wonderful score, composed by Daniel Hart, which also includes a very emotional track by Dark Rooms.