THE GHOST WRITER Movie Review
THE GHOST WRITER received a lot of attention before it even had a release date, because of writer/director Roman Polanski’s arrest back in September 2009. And against the odds, the movie was finally released and so let’s talk about it.
In The Ghost Writer, an author (Ewan McGregor) is hired to ghostwrite and complete the autobiography of a controversial former British Prime Minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), when the previous ghostwriter is found dead. The Ghost is sent to live with Adam Lang, his wife (Olivia Williams) and chief of staff (Kim Cattrall) in an East Coast beach house in order to for him to capture the essence of Lang. Soon after, Lang finds himself in the middle of a scandal over his administration’s harsh counterterrorism tactics. And as The Ghost digs into Lang’s past, it isn’t long until he discovers clues of a secret that may be far more shocking than he could have anticipated. But the question is, will The Ghost be able to survive long enough for his discoveries to make it into the book?
Even though the movie had a slow pace, I found myself totally absorbed into the story and its characters. There is a real tension that builds throughout the film that really left me at the edge of my seat by the end of the movie. And I can honestly say that I did not expect it to end the way it did, but it definitely left me thinking about it.
As a big fan of Ewan McGregor, I of course enjoyed his performance immensely as The Ghost that finds himself in the middle of a mystery that even he didn’t anticipate. Pierce Brosnan is not as present as I expected throughout the film, but he definitely makes an impression as Adam Lang whenever he is onscreen. He is very charismatic. Olivia Williams probably plays an interesting character as Lang’s wife. It was really hard to decipher her character, but I just loved the scenes she had with Ewan McGregor, these two characters put together in a scene was really interesting to watch.
Overall, I have to say I really enjoyed The Ghost Writer even more than I expected. The story was compelling, the characters interesting, and the ending unexpected. I would definitely recommend you check it out, especially if you are a fan of mystery/thrillers.
