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Quick Review: THE GHOST WRITER

Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer is an eloquent cinematic message.  The message is: I’m so good at my job, I will have you on the edge of your seat for two hours even though you don’t care about the protagonist and can see the ending from a mile away.

Polanski directed the hell out of this film.  The script is pathetic.  Ewan McGregor plays a ghost writer who is brought into finish penning the memoirs of Adam Lang (played by Pierce Brosnan), England’s ex-Prime Minister,  after the previous ghost writer dies under mysterious circumstances.  Within the first twenty minutes, the phrase “I’m/You’re way in over your head,” (or some variation thereof) is uttered at least four times.  Lang is being investigated for war crimes and he’s staying in the U.S. and fears returning to England where he’ll face a war crimes tribunal.  Polanski not only steps in front of the camera and waves, “Hello!” during a scene where Lang and his wife (Olivia Williams) discuss his options with his lawyer, but he then takes a dig at the U.S.  Explaining why Lang can’t be extradited to England, a character notes that the U.S. doesn’t acknowledge the ICC (International Criminal Court) along with Iraq, China, and other nations whose company we tend not to celebrate.  It’s clear Polanski thinks his situation is ridiculous and he basically blows a big whistleberry at America even though he finished this film while under arrest in Switzerland.

As McGregor’s character, whose never named and is referred to as “The Ghost” in the credits (which is one of the few script touches I liked), digs deeper, he discovers the evidence against Lang and the motive for why his predecessor was murdered.  The problem is there’s no reason for him to dig deeper.  The Ghost has no character, and while you may argue that it’s intentional, he’s an active character and we’re left scratching our heads why a reluctant writer–whose only draw to the project is $250,000 for a four-week polish on an already-written manuscript–would turn into an investigative journalist.

But most regular moviegoers will know the culprits well before the film ends and it’s remarkable that suspicious characters in the film raise gigantic flags with the emblem of the great nation Immalionmyassoff, and that the music and tone is equally sinister.  But Polanski somehow weaves it all together where you care about what happens to The Ghost and want to see the film through to the end (although the final moment feels forced and leads to a close that should not surprise anyone familiar with Polanski’s past work or life).

When it comes to Roman Polanski, you may hate the man (I don’t because I don’t really care about his personal life one way or the other), but you have to admire the director.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

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