REVIEW: THE GHOST WRITER

The Ghost Writer is the latest movie by director Roman Polanski (The Pianist). For those hoping this was the big screen version of the 1992 TV program by the same name, you would be mistaken. There are no teenagers solving mysteries with the help of their ghost friend who can only manipulate words on paper. Frankly that would have been better than what you actually get. Instead you get a humdrum political “suspense/action/mystery,” with little suspense or action and almost no mystery.

So have I gotten you excited for this movie yet? No? Good, don’t, you will only be disappointed. The story starts with an abandoned car on a ferry, in what is suppose to be Martha’s Vineyard (more on that later). A body washes up on a bleak beach near the private home of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). We soon learn that the body is that of Adam Lang’s ghost writer, who had nearly finished Lang’s memoirs. In desperate need of a replacement, the publisher – who has already pumped 10 million into the book– hires a new ghost writer, (Ewan McGregor). McGregor’s character is nameless; I’ll call him Ghost (clever, right). Upon arriving to Lang’s private home in “Martha’s Vineyard,” Ghost is introduced to Lang’s VERY personal assistant, Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall) as well as Lang and his ice-cold wife, Ruth Lang (Olivia Williams). Upon meeting these people and reading the manuscript to the memoirs, Ghost is put on edge, things don’t seem right. Ghost is proven right when he learns that the World Court is trying Lang for crimes against humanity (waterboarding). Ghost starts to dig into the manuscript to find out the truth and in doing so, learns things are not what they seem.

The film takes place in Martha’s Vineyard, but it was actually shot in northern Germany. As a result, we get this weird European Martha’s Vineyard hybrid. There is also a scene that is suppose to take place in New York, but a generic European city is used instead. I had to keep reminding myself where things were taking place, and the movie suffered for it. So why did Polanski shoot this movie in Europe and not in America? Well he would have, if he could, but Polanski can’t return to America. Polanski is wanted for rape, he fled the country back in ’78 – yeah, real classy guy.

The story plays out rather slowly, and deliberately, which will make a lot of viewers’ bored. The action/thriller sequences I felt weren’t as engaging as they could have been. There was almost a car chase in this movie, but the car that was pursuing Ghost got bored half way through and forgot what it was doing apparently, allowing Ghost a boring “escape”. There was one tense verbal scene between Ghost and a character by the name of Paul Emmett (Tom Wilkinson). This scene was helped by the fact that Wilkinson is a great actor. As far as “mystery” is concerned, an observant viewer will figure out the big twist about half way through the movie. In fact Polanski throws it in your face with a big red underline, in case you weren’t paying attention.

There was one thing that I did like about the film and that was the mood that was created throughout the film. Everyone in the movie seemed suspicious and untrustworthy, even the maid. Lang’s private home is ultra modern, cold, sleek and empty. The weather was cold, windy, and rainy. All of these elements combined created a distinct mood that helped to draw me into the movie, when other elements of the film were failing.

The Ghost Writer had all of the trappings of a really great movie, but failed to deliver. Was this a bad movie? No. Was it a good movie? Not really. If I had nothing better to recommend, I would say watch The Ghost Writer, but I will always have something better to recommend. Take a pass on The Ghost Writer.

My Rating:

Released: February 2010
Length: 2 hr 8 min
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Written by: Robert Harris
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson