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THE GHOST WRITER Send This Review to a Friend
A ferry approaches through the fog. A car on it is abandoned. A body is seen ashore. So begins the suspenseful new political thriller by director Roman Polanski, and although it is only February, I venture to say “The Ghost Writer” will earn a place among the best films of 2010. It is a gripping, fascinating work--written by Polanski and Robert Harris based on Harris’s novel-- that holds one in its grasp from start to finish. It is also attuned to the times with a plot involving a former British Prime Minister accused of crimes against humanity involving torture. Polanski once again shows off his filmmaking skills by creating and maintaining an intense atmosphere and a cynical view of what can happen in the world.
Ewan McGregor plays a writer hired to ghost the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former British Prime Minister, who is in the United States on Martha’s Vineyard. (A foreign location had to be used as a stand-in, given Polanski’s inability to return to the U.S.) The writer, known as Ghost, is replacing the former ghost writer, whose body was found mysteriously on the beach. Ghost has misgivings, but he is to be paid $250,000 for a month’s work. McGregor is letter perfect in the role and just the right type along the lines Hitchcock used for an ordinary guy suddenly caught up in dangerous events with his life on the line.
Pierce Brosnan gives one of his best performances as Lang, who tries to present a smooth front but is rocked by the accusations that have suddenly been leveled against him for helping the American government in rendering suspected terrorists to places where they can be brutally tortured. Olivia Williams delivers a fine, prickly performance as Ruth, Lang’s angry wife, who surmises that he has been having an affair with his assistant, Amelia Bly, intriguingly played by Kim Cattrall.
Ghost must work at the Lang compound on the tightly guarded manuscript that his predecessor left behind. With Lang having gone on a trip to Washington, Ghost and Mrs. Lang become closer during his absence. Should the writer succumb to temptation?
As in any worthy thriller there is an assortment of mysterious characters, one of whom is a renowned professor, Paul Emmett, played by the always excellent Tom Wilkinson. I got a special kick out of seeing Eli Wallach in a small but colorful, well-played role as an elderly man who doesn’t believe the body could have washed up on shore in defiance of the currents as he knows them to be.
There is much cleverness throughout, including the smart use of a car directional system and some punchy dialogue, such as “Two ghost writers can’t drown—they’re not kittens.” As for the political links, they are easy to spot. Think Tony Blair. While Polanski works in a Hitchcock mode, he is sparse in use of humor. This thriller is not offered as a mischievously entertaining game, as often was Hitchcock’s approach, but as sheer menace in a serious, politically complex environment with high stakes for those involved. Provocatively, it can also leave you pondering what is likely to happen after the film ends. If you enjoy superior thrillers, put this on your must list. A Summit Entertainment release.
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