The Ghost Writer
A political thriller from filmmaking master Roman Polanski (The Pianist, Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby), based on the novel by Robert Harris (Enigma). When a successful British ghost writer, 'The Ghost' (Ewan McGregor), agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start – not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.
The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the US Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, trouble begins...
- Director:
- Roman Polanski ('Repulsion', 'Rosemary's Baby', 'Chinatown', 'The Pianist')
- Writer:
- Roman Polanski
- Cast:
- Ewan McGregorPierce BrosnanKim CattrallOlivia WilliamsTimothy HuttonTom WilkinsonJames Belushi
Reviews & comments
Clever Well Executed Twisty Thriller
My favourite from 2010 Film Festival. Impressive acting from three main leads including Ewan McGregor as the ghost writer and Pierce Brosnan as former British PM and Blair clone. This thriller starts off slowly but the build up is absorbing like missing pieces of a jig saw which click into place at the end. Who is the true villain in this masterpiece...
Excellent Political Thriller
The Loafers love a good thriller and we're pretty much into political intrigue, so this was a real winner with us. An up-to-date, highly relevant plot with an excellent script all put together by Roman Polanski. His main mistake was casting Pierce Brosnan as the ex British PM (although he might also have done better than Ewen McGregor). All 6 of us...
No Roman holiday
As expected, a well made film that's reasonably entertaining and intelligent, most of the time. Good atmos and the connections to Polanskis personal situation make it more interesting along with the obvious political comparisons. Overall a little underwhelming - I found my mind wandering and didn't care too much in the end. The monstrous lighting of the...
My review
John I think I really liked this film until the ending! The film had a good tension going throughout, and a few moments I was really tensed in my seat which is rare. I like how it's a parallel to Tony Blair and good performance all around. However the ending ruined it for me, I did not enjoy the final scene...
Variety
pressThe best thing that can be said about Roman Polanski's pic version of Robert Harris' bestseller "The Ghost" is that auds won't need to read the original novel. With a few exceptions, and necessary tightening, it's pretty much all up on the screen -- page by page of plot, line by line of dialogue -- in one of the most literal adaptations (by the British journo-turned-novelist himself) since the Harry Potter series. Low on sustained tension, and with a weak central perf by Ewan McGregor in the titular role, "The Ghost Writer" looks set for moderate biz at best in Europe, with much briefer haunting of North American salles.
Total Film
pressThere’s been an acid tinge to some US reviews of Roman Polanski’s 18th film, raising the spectre of the director’s current misfortunes – as if they have any legitimate critical bearing on The Ghost.
The New York Times
pressThe darkly brooding sky that hangs over much of “The Ghost Writer,” the latest from Roman Polanski, suggests that all is grim and gray and perhaps even for naught. But this high-grade pulp entertainment is too delectably amusing and self-amused, and far too aware of its own outrageous conceits to sustain such a dolorous verdict. The world has gone mad of course — this is a Polanski film — so all we can do is puzzle through the madness, dodging the traps with our ironic detachment and tongue lightly in cheek.
The Guardian
pressRoman Polanski's deft take on Robert Harris's political thriller is the director's most purely enjoyable film for years
Roger Ebert
pressIn Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer," a man without a past rattles around in the life of a man with too much of one. He begins by reading the work of an earlier ghost who mysteriously drowned, and finds it boring and conventional. Hired to pep up the manuscript to justify a $10 million advance, he discovers material to make it exciting, all right, and possibly deadly.
New Zealand Herald
pressLet's cut to the chase: the ex-PM Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) depicted here is Tony Blair and "Hatherton" is defence contractor Halliburton.
Hollywood Reporter
pressBERLIN -- Roman Polanski is a filmmaker who could envelop an old lady's stroll along a boulevard with a sense of anxiety and dread, so it's a little odd that he hasn't made more thrillers in his career. "The Ghost Writer," an out-and-out thriller with international politics and war crimes as its background, gives him a springboard to take a deep dive into all the moody atmosphere, breathtaking betrayals, words loaded in double meanings and heart-stopping threats that make the genre so cinematic.
Empire Magazine
pressAlexandre Desplat deftly draws out the increasing uncertainty that anchors Roman Polanski’s tale (here retaining novelist Robert Harris’ original title) of a writer negotiating the dangerous memoirs of a Blair-like PM, resulting in an exquisitely suspenseful work.
Dominion Post
pressIf Polanski had volunteered to spend the year or two that this film took him to make in a Californian jail, that would have been time well spent. As it is, he has turned in one of the worst films of his career, and robbed me of a couple of hours when I could have been enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Boo
Variety
pressThe best thing that can be said about Roman Polanski's pic version of Robert Harris' bestseller "The Ghost" is that auds won't need to read the original novel. With a few exceptions, and necessary tightening, it's pretty much all up on the screen -- page by page of plot, line by line of dialogue -- in one of the most literal adaptations (by the British journo-turned-novelist himself) since the Harry Potter series. Low on sustained tension, and with a weak central perf by Ewan McGregor in the titular role, "The Ghost Writer" looks set for moderate biz at best in Europe, with much briefer haunting of North American salles.
Total Film
pressThere’s been an acid tinge to some US reviews of Roman Polanski’s 18th film, raising the spectre of the director’s current misfortunes – as if they have any legitimate critical bearing on The Ghost.
The New York Times
pressThe darkly brooding sky that hangs over much of “The Ghost Writer,” the latest from Roman Polanski, suggests that all is grim and gray and perhaps even for naught. But this high-grade pulp entertainment is too delectably amusing and self-amused, and far too aware of its own outrageous conceits to sustain such a dolorous verdict. The world has gone mad of course — this is a Polanski film — so all we can do is puzzle through the madness, dodging the traps with our ironic detachment and tongue lightly in cheek.
The Guardian
pressRoman Polanski's deft take on Robert Harris's political thriller is the director's most purely enjoyable film for years
Roger Ebert
pressIn Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer," a man without a past rattles around in the life of a man with too much of one. He begins by reading the work of an earlier ghost who mysteriously drowned, and finds it boring and conventional. Hired to pep up the manuscript to justify a $10 million advance, he discovers material to make it exciting, all right, and possibly deadly.
New Zealand Herald
pressLet's cut to the chase: the ex-PM Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) depicted here is Tony Blair and "Hatherton" is defence contractor Halliburton.
Hollywood Reporter
pressBERLIN -- Roman Polanski is a filmmaker who could envelop an old lady's stroll along a boulevard with a sense of anxiety and dread, so it's a little odd that he hasn't made more thrillers in his career. "The Ghost Writer," an out-and-out thriller with international politics and war crimes as its background, gives him a springboard to take a deep dive into all the moody atmosphere, breathtaking betrayals, words loaded in double meanings and heart-stopping threats that make the genre so cinematic.
Empire Magazine
pressAlexandre Desplat deftly draws out the increasing uncertainty that anchors Roman Polanski’s tale (here retaining novelist Robert Harris’ original title) of a writer negotiating the dangerous memoirs of a Blair-like PM, resulting in an exquisitely suspenseful work.
Dominion Post
pressIf Polanski had volunteered to spend the year or two that this film took him to make in a Californian jail, that would have been time well spent. As it is, he has turned in one of the worst films of his career, and robbed me of a couple of hours when I could have been enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Boo
Clever Well Executed Twisty Thriller
My favourite from 2010 Film Festival. Impressive acting from three main leads including Ewan McGregor as the ghost writer and Pierce Brosnan as former British PM and Blair clone. This thriller starts off slowly but the build up is absorbing like missing pieces of a jig saw which click into place at the end. Who is the true villain in this masterpiece...
Excellent Political Thriller
The Loafers love a good thriller and we're pretty much into political intrigue, so this was a real winner with us. An up-to-date, highly relevant plot with an excellent script all put together by Roman Polanski. His main mistake was casting Pierce Brosnan as the ex British PM (although he might also have done better than Ewen McGregor). All 6 of us...
No Roman holiday
As expected, a well made film that's reasonably entertaining and intelligent, most of the time. Good atmos and the connections to Polanskis personal situation make it more interesting along with the obvious political comparisons. Overall a little underwhelming - I found my mind wandering and didn't care too much in the end. The monstrous lighting of the...
My review
John I think I really liked this film until the ending! The film had a good tension going throughout, and a few moments I was really tensed in my seat which is rare. I like how it's a parallel to Tony Blair and good performance all around. However the ending ruined it for me, I did not enjoy the final scene...
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