“The Ghost Writer” movie maintains a strong sense of suspense from beginning to end. You follow the ghost writer character as he tries to piece together the mystery as to why the Tony Blair clone that he is writing for is at the center of such a firestorm. Why was his predecessor killed? Will the same happen to him? If so, why? And you are left wondering who to trust, if anyone, which adds to the suspense.

Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), former Prime Minister of UK, is banished to Cape Cod after his premiership. He is highly unpopular due to getting involved in a war in the Middle East and he wants to tell his side of the story. He hires the Ghost (Ewan McGregor) to write his story. In the process, the Ghost learns that another writer had been working on the story but had died mysteriously. Lang’s wife (Olivia Williams) is angry at her exile, at her husband for not listening to her and for having a mistress (Kim Cattrall) and at herself for not stopping the whole mess. The Ghost, as he works on gathering data, begins to find clues that point to something, a conspiracy perhaps, but the Ghost can’t quite figure it out. Then things happen, mysterious phone calls, warnings of danger, more dead bodies, and the feeling that someone is following him. The Ghost knows he is on to something but not sure he wants to risk his life to find it out. What to do? How does he do it? Most importantly, how does he stay alive? This is one of Roman Polanski’s better thrillers. The plot is always engaging and interesting. The story is so good that all he really has to do is keep the whole thing moving.  Polanski has all the parts for a great mystery — people with something to hide, a desolate grey rainy landscape, craftily delivered clues and a really unexpected but believable ending.

For me, “The Ghost Writer” was among the best film of 2010 . Roman Polanski has made a film about adults for adults. The cast is an impossible potpourri of familiar faces (James Belushi and Kim Cattrall!).”The Ghot Writer” is a thriller that does not rely on cliches like car chases, histrionics or preposterous plot contrivances. Subtle, taut and engrossing. Stellar cameo by Tom Wilkinson, too. I loved pretty much everything about this movie. Polanski never dumbs it down for the audience. He makes the kind of films that demand your full attention – and then rewards you for it.

The Ghost Writer — Movie