"Now that's what I call a thriller," I said to myself as I came out of The Ghost Writer. Having just seen the brilliant Alice Creed only last week, I wasn't expecting to see such a masterfully crafted thriller for a Good while yet. I watched Roman Polanski's newest film completely engaged and came out having seen one of the best films of 2010 so far without any doubt.
As the name suggests, the film is all about a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) who is given the opportunity by his agent to write the completed memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The writer flies out to Lang's oceanfront house on a remote island just off the East of the USA. He meets Lang, his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) and also his aide Amelia (Kim Cattrall). You get the impression early on that Lang might be a bit of a bastard, he's having an affair with Amelia and is soon accused of sanctioning the kidnapping and torture of suspects. The World Court prepares an indictment. It would be unwise for Lang to return to Britain, and he flees to Washington. The ghost writer is left alone in the house and it all kicks off from there.
As you may have guessed, the story (based on a best-selling novel by Robert Harris) has more than few sly hints and winks towards Tony Blair. Adam Lang may as well have a Tony Blair nametag on the comparisons are so clear. Ewan McGregor's search for information is creepy, chilling and obviously rather thrilling as well. There are plenty of twists and exciting ideas that I won't spoil for you here.
The story is excellent as you'd expect considering it's based on a best-selling book and the author helped write the screenplay. Roman Ploanski's direction is also utterly brilliant. The film is perfectly edited and is subtle and thrilling at the same time. This film is the work of a man who knows how to direct a thriller; smooth, calm and ever so confident. It builds suspense instead of depending on shock and action.
It's helped a lot by the believable and excellent performances of the cast. My God I've been waiting a while for Ewan McGregor to be in anything decent (Star Wars and Angels and Demons, eurgh) but he delivers a brilliant performance here. Pierce Brosnan is to be commended as well for a smart and engaging performance, whilst his on-screen wife Olivia Williams projects the air of a wife who is committed to her husband in more than expected ways thanks to her great performance. Kim Cattrall is not as significantly involved and is clearly more suited to chick flicks but still manages a decent performance herself.
The Ghost Writer is simply a superbly well made film. It's directed by a guy who clearly knows what he's doing to the extent that he could make something equally as compelling in his sleep. It looks great and moves at a perfect rhythm so to keep the audience perfectly engaged and compelled to keep watching. The performances are superb too and the story is believable and enjoyable. As I said at the start, this is what I call a thriller.
5/5
22 out of 37 found this helpful