Movie Review - The Ghost Writer

THE GHOST WRITER

Directed By: Roman Polanski (Chinatown, The Pianist)

Starring: Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!, Star Wars), Pierce Brosnan (James Bond, Mamma Mia)

You may know the director, Roman Polanski, as "that guy who had sex with a minor and fled the country", or most likely, you don't know him at all. But that's not to say he hasn't made some great movies, such as the Jack Nicholson classic "Chinatown" or the gripping Holocaust movie "The Pianist". And while a quiet political thriller that is almost unheard of (do you actually know what this movie is?) may not seem like it would follow in those footsteps, it actually...does, in a way.

Now, that's not to say it's a new classic. But Polanski, who fled to Europe after his incident with a 13-year-old girl, has still managed to create a gripping thriller that is a must-see for anybody who likes edge-of-your-seat dramas.

The premise of The Ghost Writer is relatively simple. McGregor plays a famous ghost writer who is hired to assist the completion of former British prime minister Adam Lang's (Brosnan) memoirs. But of course, as in all political thrillers, there's a catch: Lang's last ghost writer recently died from drowning. An accident, of course. Or was it...? And thus starts the usual average-guy-digs-up-political-dirt story you've seen so many times. However, the script, based on the novel by Richard Harris, takes some unusual turns and prevents this from being the usual average-guy-digs-up-political-dirt story you've seen so many times.

While the direction may not be as flashy as some of Polanski's best, he definitely keeps up the flow and melancholy look and feel of the film, despite a mediocre score. The acting, as you might expect is top-notch, with McGregor giving yet another incredible performance, and a brief part that I won't give away but is excellently played by Tom Wilkinson, who's never really done a bad performance. But the true star of the film is Brosnan, in a role that in my mind would deserve some Oscar attention if this movie were released later in the year. As Lang he is rude, snippy, and always on edge, which gives him that perfect blend of intrigue and uncomfortableness.

While I was watching the movie, I kept thinking to myself, "This is really good," but it wasn't until the film was over that I thought, "This is really GREAT." Because The Ghost Writer has that special talent about it that it actually gets BETTER as it goes along, which is incredibly refreshing in today's societies where truly masterful pictures are ruined by length (*cough Benjamin Button cough*). With excellent pacing and an INCREDIBLE final scene that literally makes the entire movie work, The Ghost Writer is definitely a film worth your time and money, and then some.

A-