The Ghost Writer

Roman Polanski puts together a densely plotted, tightly woven thriller with his most recent film The Ghost Writer. Polanski, who's probably best known for Chinatown and Romsemary's Baby seems to excel at storytelling like this and this recent effort is no exception. Full of twists and turns, supported by a strong cast, excellent pacing, and delightfully atmospheric music that serves to elevate the tension, Ghost Writer is compelling from the opening frame to the closing credits. It isn't the fastest paced movie you're going to see this year, so if you're attention wanders easily this one may not be for you. But if you like a movie that takes its time, has a clear focus, is crammed full of intrigue and betrayal, and is topical to the world around us today, then you couldn't do better at the cineplex right now than Ghost Writer.

As per usual, if you want to go in with a blank slate then go ahead and stop reading here. I'm just going to do a brief discussion of the plot real quick before wrapping this up. No spoilers this time around.

Ewan McGregor stars as the film's titular "ghost writer" who's been hired to clean up the rough draft of a memoir for ex-British Prime Minister Andrew Lang's life. Lang, played well by Pierce Brosnan, begins the film under investigation for war crimes committed while in office, specifically dealing with the unlawful holding and interrogation of terror suspects. McGregor is asked to come on last minute because his predecessor committed suicide before finishing revisions on the final copy of the book. An apparently talented writer who is known for working quickly under deadline, McGregor feels well suited for the job as he knows little about politics which, in turn, should allow him to get to the heart of what Lang is about. McGregor is quickly whisked away to meet lang and begin work, his publisher wants the final draft in hand within the next fours weeks so there isn't a moment to lose. This is the set up for the film which quickly becomes a sprawling labyrinth with new suspicions and revelations around every turn.

It's an immensely satisfying movie to watch, in a time when we seem to be getting louder, bigger, brighter, flashier, and more explosive in our movie story-telling, it's nice to see a movie that really builds tension by letting the actors do what they do best, act. No cheap smoke and mirrors here, just a really strong plot that we can all relate to a little bit if we've watched news in the last few years. Get to a theatre and check it out if you've got the time. It's not a big release so you might want to look at your local art-house theatre instead of the AMC 24 at the mall, but if you can find it it's well worth it.