A ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is hired
to rewrite the memoirs of an ex-British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The
ghost is replacing Lang’s speech writer who drowned mysteriously, and the ghost is in the middle of a scandal that erupts
accusing Lang of authorizing torture on terrorist suspects in Afghanistan.
The ghost starts to uncover things about Lang’s past that make him question whether he is working for an actor
turned politician or a PM working for the CIA. He follows the trail and
wonders if he is safe with rewriting Lang’s book (and if he can trust anyone including Lang’s wife Ruth).
THE GHOST WRITER is based on the novel
by Robert Harris. Controversial director Roman Polanski saw THE GHOST as a (Raymond)
Chandler type story where Harris wanted the script to play out like an Alfred
Hitchcock thriller where the logical things become more fantastic as the story goes on.
The book about Lang is another character up to the last frame. McGregor
is the ordinary guy trying to survive while Brosnan plays the volatile Lang to the hilt.
THE GHOST WRITER is a thriller that takes you into the world of these characters as you feel the atmosphere of a world
so close to reality and characters you get to know (and question). This
film is one of Polanski’s best alongside THE NINTH GATE and CHINATOWN.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Only two featurettes and an interview with
Roman Polanski are on this disc. Don’t watch any of these until you
watch the film since they spoil the entire plot.
THE GHOST WRITER: FICTION OR REALITY?- an interview with author Robert Harris as he tells how the book came to be written
and then get turned into a movie.
THE CAST OF “GHOST WRITER”- the cast talk about their characters, the story, and how it is to work with
Roman Polanski.
The interview with Roman Polanski has Polanski
discuss his process of how he made the film and how the film came to be made.
FINAL ANALYSIS: THE GHOST WRITER is a good thriller in the Hitchcock and Chandler
tradition.
This DVD review is ©8-5-2010 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com
