Two of the masters of film tried their hands at the thriller genre at the beginning of 2010. While Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island was undone by an M. Night Shyamalan style twist ending, Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer offers no such tricks. Based on the novel by Robert Harris, it relies on a strong cast of actors and old-fashioned storytelling.
Ewan McGregor stars as an unnamed ghost writer who is only referred to as The Ghost in credits. The Ghost lands a lucrative job handling the autobiography of former British Prime Minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The Ghost’s predecessor was Lang’s long-time aide whose body was found washed ashore. In addition, Lang is accused of abducting two British citizens suspected of being terrorists and handing them over to the CIA for torture. The Ghost digs deeper into the mysterious death as well as the accusations leveled against Lang.
The allusions to today’s political landscape are obvious and sometimes hammered home too hard. Lang, played with a fierce bluster by Brosnan, is loosely based on Tony Blair with just a dash of Bill Clinton thrown in for good measure. Lang is having an affair with his assistant Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall) while his dutiful wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams) steadfastly stands by his side in public. He is portrayed as a glorified lackey to the American government with shady ties to a military-industrial conglomerate known as Hatherton. About as subtle as calling them Schmalliburton, I suppose.
Polanski instills a cold and sullen mood to the The Ghost Writer. The majority of the film is set in Martha’s Vineyard and there is a constant gloomy overcast, about as gloomy as the specter of scandal and death hanging over everyone’s head. Lang’s retreat is just as cold. It is an angular, ultra-modern hideaway ironically laden with expansive glass windows looking over the island coast.
The final verdict on The Ghost Writer hinges not on any on-screen happenings, but in Polanski’s own personal proclivities. While I certainly have no problem with separating the personal with the professional, it’s difficult to do so when it’s rubbed right in your face. Much of the story involves the International Criminal Court attempting to prosecute Lang as a war criminal. Lang must choose between fighting the charges in his native England and staying in America where he will not be extradited. If you know anything about Polanski, the parallels need no explanation. The subtext boils to an uneasy conclusion in which the accused is laid blameless and the fault is laid firmly at the feet of a woman.
Rating: **
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