Film reviews
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The Ghost Writer (Film)
Rating: MA
Running Time: 128
Country: France, Germany, UK
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Jon Bernthal, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Ewan McGregor
Distributor: Hoyts
Release Date: August 12, 2010
Film Worth: $10.00
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthIntriguing political thriller, which lacks the atmosphere of Polanski’s previous masterpieces.
If you like political conspiracy thrillers, this one narrowly passes muster. It takes a while to get going, but The Ghost Writer becomes intriguing enough, if not exactly engrossing. Suspension of disbelief is delayed by overacting, stereotyping of national characters, and decidedly shaky accents.
Ewan McGregor plays the (unnamed) titular ghost writer, who is hauled in at the last minute to tart up - and virtually rewrite - the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan, whose relatively brief performance is easily the film's strongest). The ghost writer is understandably discomforted to learn that his predecessor in the job died in a drowning accident. And, just to add to the unease, the very next day, Lang is accused of a war crime: illegally seizing suspected terrorists and handing them over to the CIA for torture. Any similarities between the hawkish and US-supporting Lang and former British PM Tony Blair would appear to be completely intentional.
The plot - which unfolds largely on an island off America's east coast - thickens. Protesters and media converge on the island "getaway", and the ghost writer is privy to conflicting information from Lang's wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his mistress, Amelia (Kim Cattrall), amongst others. He starts to feel more like an investigative reporter, as the revelations begin to pile up about Lang's earlier activities as a Cambridge student. The prevailing tone becomes slightly eerie, in a sub-David-Lynch kind of way.
The Ghost Writer has a strong plot and a good ending, but it lacks any of the atmospheric flair of Roman Polanski's previous directorial masterpieces, such as Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby. Given his precarious current legal situation, it could well be the controversial director's last film - and, if so, it's a rather humdrum end to a brilliant career.
