The Ghost Writer

5 Comments

1. acwrite

   September 24, 2010 at 11:58 pm

   Review by acwrite for The Ghost Writer
   Rating:
   This movie has a lot of positive points to it that made it worth watching. First, the acting was well done. Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Ewan McGregor, and Olivia Williams play characters who are complex, mysterious, and delightfully hard to predict. Secondly, the ambiance of the film is spot-on. The bleak atmosphere is foreboding and unsettling with its stark cinematography and the feeling like your every move is being watched from the opening scene. Lastly, the plot is full of murky twists and turns that keep you guessing what will happen through the very last scene. Add all of these things together and you end up with a movie that makes you feel nervous, uncomfortable, and agitated – just like a good political thriller should.

   The story begins when a ghost writer, hired to write the memoirs for a former British Prime Minister, washes up dead on the shores of Martha’s Vineyard. Things only get more dangerous and bizarre when a second ghost writer is hired to finish the job and finds a trail of strange clues that his predecessor left behind. What’s eventually uncovered is an intricate plot involving murder, terrorism, and the CIA.

   I found this ominous and understated political thriller to be definitely worth watching. Anyone who likes being slowly drawn into films with disturbed characters, dark plot twists, and shocking endings shouldn’t be disappointed in this one.

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2. Ricardo C.

   September 24, 2010 at 11:50 pm

   Review by Ricardo C. for The Ghost Writer
   Rating:
   Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer is a great thriller in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much or North by Northwest; This is a god send due the garbage being made today.

   Ewan McGregor stars as a writer who replaces a recently deceased “ghost writer” who was working on the memoirs of a contriversal former British Prime Minister named Adam Lang, played in good spirit by Pierce Brosnan. Mc Gregor’s character was brilliantly written because you feel his place in the world as an anonymous person, you actually never learn his name during the entire film. McGregor gets caught up in Lang’s quest to not only preserve his legacy for prosperity but also fight political scandal; The film shows the power of words in the game of politics and in an ego-maniac’s case, it never ends.

   I also adore the settings of the film, everything is purposely cold and disdant and McGregor is essentially swimming in shark infested waters and never knows where the danger comes from. One of Polanski’s great trade marks is always to have the main protagonist caught in sort of an existential box in which the character can’t seem to escape.

   The film builds to a gripping climax when Mcgregor investigates Lang’s possible connections to the CIA and is hunted down by people who don’t want him to find out; At one point a brilliantly staged low-speed chase occurs. Again, this is a welcome change from the standard thrillers of conspiracy without substance, characterization, and usually has everything occuring in public view as opposed to into the shadows.

   Roman Polanski returns in top form here as a director and co-writer; Surely one of his masterworks.
   

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3. Kris King

   September 24, 2010 at 11:23 pm

   Review by Kris King for The Ghost Writer
   Rating:
   “The Ghost Writer” is excellent! This is how the story goes: When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start–not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident. The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA — a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth, and his personal assistant and mistress, Amelia. As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA — and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?

   The cast led by Ewan McGregor (as The Ghost) & Pierce Brosnan (as Adam Lang) is excellent! The directing by Roman Polanski (who also wrote the screenplay and produced) (who also directed “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), “Chinatown” (1974) & “The Pianist” (2002, which won him the Best Director Oscar, he also produced) is excellent! The screenplay by Robert Harris (based on his novel) & Polanski is excellent!

   The music by Alexandre Desplat (who also did the music to “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (2009), “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button” (2008), “The Queen” (2006), “Julie & Julia” (2009), “The Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009), the upcoming “The Tree Of Life” (2010) & “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I” (2010) is excellent! The cinematography by Pawel Edelman (who also did the cinematography to “The Pianist” & “Ray” (2004) is excellent! The film editing by Hervé de Luze (who also did the film editing to “The Pianist”) is excellent! The casting by Fiona Weir (who also did the casting to “Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire” (2005), “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix” (2007), “Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince” (2009), the upcoming “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Parts I & II” (2010 & 2011) & “Invictus” (2009) is excellent! The production design by Albrecht Konrad is excellent! The art direction by Cornelia Ott (who also did the art direction to “Valkyrie” (2008), David Scheunemann (supervising art director) (who also did the art direction to “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) & the upcoming “The Apparition” (2010) & Steve Summersgill (who also did the art direction to the upcoming “The Apparition”) is excellent! The set decoration by Katharina Birkenfeld & Bernhard Henrich (who also did the set decoration to “Valkyrie” & “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) is excellent! The costume design by Dinah Collin (who also did the costume design to “United 93” (2006) is excellent!

   This is a excellent mystery-thriller that keeps you guessing and thinking and on the edge of your seat. This is one of the best movies of the new year. This is one of Roman Polanski’s best movies in a while.

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4. Balaji Rajam

   September 24, 2010 at 10:55 pm

   Review by Balaji Rajam for The Ghost Writer
   Rating:
   This movie is bound to raise some ire and all for the wrong reasons. The controversy surrounding Polanski will dominate the argument. I feel that is incredibly unfair to every one else who has worked on this movie. So I am going to separate the art from the artist.

   In what has to be one of the best casting decisions, Pierce Brosnan plays Adam Lang the former Prime Minister of UK. Embroiled in a controversy regarding the rendition program, he has sought refuge in America. Ewan McGregor (he is never given a name) is hired as a ghost writer after the original one dies in a mysterious accident.

   Your average thriller would start out with the base setup and build on the tension leading upto the finale. But in Ghost Writer the tension is always palpable. Even in the most mundane of scenes you are never allowed to settle. The remarkable background score by Alexandre Desplat and the camera work of Pawel Edelman which paints predominantly in varying shades of bleakness play a huge part in achieving that.

   Pierce Brosnan is brilliant as a conflicted man who had to make difficult decisions in demanding situations. The movie very wisely chooses not take a stance on where it stands on those decisions. Olivia Williams as Ruth Lang produces an impressive multi-faceted performance in a meaty role – the kind rare in Hollywood these days.

   So if you are open to separating the art from the artist, definitely watch this movie.

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5. John F. Rooney

   September 24, 2010 at 10:51 pm

   Review by John F. Rooney for The Ghost Writer
   Rating:
   “The Ghost Writer” is a Roman Polanski political thriller of the first order. It is very cleverly plotted with gripping suspense and narrative drive that pulls you into the story. Some movies of late have seemed endless; in this one I was completely unaware of time passing and was completely enthralled by this story of the deepest intrigue. It’s full of conspiracies, and the whole thing is done in a very classy, sophisticated manner that will remind you of Hitchcock at his very best. It’s engrossing and involving.
   
   The acting is top-notch with Ewan McGregor very effective as the ghost writer who has been brought in to liven up the memoirs of a former prime minister (played extremely well by Pierce Brosnan). He is a Tony Blair figure who has been fingered for war crimes by one of his former cabinet ministers. He has ordered the arrest and rendering out of Britain of suspects so that they could be tortured for information.
   
   The movie begins in gloomy, leaden weather on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. A car is discovered without a driver. The man’s body turns up later on the island, the victim of accident, suicide, or as we rightly assume, murder. Foul play indeed! He is the previous ghost writer who has now been replaced by McGregor. And of course he found out too much while doing his research. McGregor, of course, knows he could be a target as well.
   
   Polanski has deliberately made very mundane matters seem full of import and menace. It’s full of clues and mysterious doings in the austere modernistic house so alien to the Vineyard. The cinematography and atmospherics are terrific. A lot of sinister-seeming goings-on.
   
   They don’t make them this good anymore, and I think viewers will be pleasantly surprised. The intellectually curious and politically savvy will be impressed, I think. Pierce Brosnan by the force of his personality makes Tony Blair seem like a naïve schoolboy by comparison.
   

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