In many senses, "The Ghost Writer" has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding its director, Roman Polanski, the notorious filmmaker behind classics like "Chinatown" (1974) and "Rosemary's Baby" (1968). When Polanski comes up in conversation, talk is more likely to drift toward the debate of whether or not he should be imprisoned for his alleged sex crime, and not his recently completed cinematic project and his still−ongoing career. Such distraction is a shame, because his newest film is well worth watching.
The film centers on a writer (Ewan McGregor) — only referred to as "The Ghost" — who is enlisted to ghostwrite the memoirs of a fictional former British Prime Minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), after the original ghostwriter is found dead. Lang soon becomes embroiled in a scandal about the dubious legality of interrogation techniques used by his government during the Iraq War.
McGregor's character is flown to an obscure island off the Eastern seaboard, where Lang and others are staying in some billionaire's impeccably decorated oceanfront retreat for the winter. Lang's entourage is primarily composed of his coldly intelligent wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams) and his hyper−devoted aide and mistress, Amelia (Kim Cattrall). Impeccable performances from all the actors universally help to create the atmosphere of with tension and suspicion that surrounds Lang's situation.
Before too long, Lang is forced to flee to Washington for refuge and photo ops, leaving The Ghost alone in the house with Ruth. Suddenly, increased character development allows the audience to learn a lot more about Ruth, and her relationship with The Ghost develops as well.
Soon, The Ghost starts discovering mysterious photographs, documents and telephone numbers left by the last ghostwriter, and he realizes that something is not quite right. He consequently is submerged deeper and deeper into a web of perilous intergovernmental intrigue. Here Polanski proves that his lauded skill in conjuring a chilly, rather Hitchcockian ambiance still reigns supreme. The film reaches a thrilling crescendo with tensions at fever pitch. In the end, "The Ghost Writer" delivers an ingenious plot twist that is likely to leave most audiences satisfied.
The film is relatively slow — at some points too slow — and for most films this would translate into boredom for audiences. However, Polanski is still a masterful filmmaker after all these years. He manages to reveal each new clue and detail in such tantalizing ways that the viewer is drawn into the story at every turn.
The subject matter is highly relevant to current affairs. Adam Lang is being accused of war crimes on the basis that he handed over detainees to the CIA for water boarding. The prospect of a prominent politician like Tony Blair — Lang's real−life analogue — being tried for war crimes is hardly likely, yet "The Ghost Writer" allows the audience to gleefully wonder, "What if?" Polanski alludes to several other landmarks of the contemporary political stage; the notorious oil company Halliburton and a passing reference to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are seamlessly integrated into the seething plot.
Though "The Ghost Writer" is an excellent film, it is truthfully not as superb as a Polanski film when the director is at the top of his game. Although the influences of "Chinatown" are tangible in his newest outing, at the end of the day, "The Ghost Writer" will never be one of Polanski's greats. That being said, it demonstrates a mastery of the thriller genre, as well as the art of suspense, that is very rarely seen in films released in recent years.
