“The Ghost Writer” is truly a movie for grownups. If I were an actor, I would sell my soul to be in a Polanski movie. No small roles, even if only a few minutes of screen time. Every character is key and intelligently played. Maybe I should give some credit to the writer. I look forward to seeing this one again someday when I’ve forgotten how it all went down.
A strong political thriller, and thinly veiled attack of Tony Blair, “The Ghost Writer” finds a recently retired British PM in need of a ghost writer to finish his autobiography. The ghost writer discovers a number of secrets including that the previous ghost writer died in very mysterious circumstances. The way the movie is paced is excellent with MacGregor giving an excellent performance. I especially liked the ending which I thought was very true to the story that had unfolded before our eyes. The Ghost Writer is a very good film.
This film was really terrific in the way the plot developed. The title character, who is the focus of our attention here, has been given no name as have the other characters. I was surprised that it was filmed in Martha’s Vinyard, since I thought that Polanski could not set foot on US soil without being arrested. Polanski, whatever his actions in the past or motives or personality, is a cinematic genius and apparently a delight to work with. The novelist who wrote the book on which this story is based claims to admire him in the bonus materials that came with this disk. The main character is an intelligent and completely logical fellow who says and does what I think most people would say and do in such a situation. He is hired to replace another editor of a former British PM that is rather like Tony Blair. The man he is replacing has died under strange circumstances, and naturally he wants to investigate what really happened, and is aided by the GPS on a late model BMW. All in all, The Ghost Writer is a very enjoyable film, well worth watching twice.