I am in one of those selected cities where The Ghost Writer is playing. If you are, go see this thriller with Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan and Olivia Williams among others. It’ll make it to Des Moines someday.
The Ghost Writer (Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton) – Roman Polanski isn’t allowed into the U.S. but it doesn’t stop him from directing films. He doesn’t do it often but, when he does, it is usually spectacular. His 2002 film, The Pianist, won him Best Director. The Ghost Writer is a first-class political thriller set in an unspecified American seaside resort. Ewan McGregor plays a writer who is hired to ghostwrite the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan’s character, Adam Lang) who is under criticism/protest for aiding the Americans in all of our major international ventures (Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.). He is not the first writer to be hired to do the job. The last one was found drowned just a few weeks ago under questionable circumstances (an old man played by Eli Wallach on a remote part of the island tells the writer that the body couldn’t have washed up where it did with the currents around the island).
Lang is holed up on an island in his fantastic private home with his wife, Ruth (portrayed by Olivia Williams), his private secretary (played by Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall as a Brit in a surprising performance), and a bunch of security guys. The draft of the book of memoirs is kept under lock and key. And while the writer (who has no name in the film) has unlimited access to the draft that he finds boring, he can’t take it off the grounds. The Prime Minister seems affable but he is clearly distracted and occasionally explosive. His wife is dour and serves as Lang’s chief adviser. He doesn’t do anything without seeking her input. The secretary, Amelia, is efficient, protective, and awfully close to the Prime Minister. What is going on here? Why is the PM under such attack even though he is out of office? Why is there so much secrecy around these memoirs? And what really happened to the first writer? And why are Tom Wilkinson and his character, Paul Emmett, in this film?
The writer does some sleuthing on his own. That’s a bad idea. He is followed by cars with shadowy men. As the music, which is a vital part of creating the ominous mood of the movie, reaches crescendos of violins and violas, we know that we’re headed to a dénouement of seismic proportions. And the film isn’t culminated until the last scene.
McGregor was very good in The Men Who Stare at Goats and Amelia, and he is solid here. Brosnan’s performance reminded me of his character in the small independent film, Married Life, but I must admit I always see him as Pierce Brosnan, not as his character. Olivia Williams, who was wonderful as the single teacher in An Education, is exceptional here. And, of course, every film is better if Tom Wilkinson is in it. The movie was filmed in Germany (even the American locations) since Polanski can’t visit anymore, but I kept thinking he was trying to portray it as Kennebunkport or Martha’s Vineyard.
Any resemblance between Lang and former British PM Tony Blair is purely intentional. There are also critical references to the American President (clearly George W. Bush). I suppose Polanski wasn’t a fan. The Ghost Writer is in limited release and that means it isn’t playing Des Moines for those of you there. For those in the “selected cities,” as I am right now, rush to the theater.