The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer (2010)
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall

The Ghost Writer is without a doubt the best movie so far in 2010 and perhaps the best movie that Roman Polanski has done since Tess (1979). It is an adult, thinking-man’s thriller. It requires patience, it requires thought, and (God-forbid), it challenges the audience while watching a movie. It tells the tale of, well, a ghostwriter who has been hired to write the memoirs of a Prime Minister who was forced to leave office. As the ghostwriter becomes increasingly involved in the inner-workings of the Prime Minister’s life, everything is not as it seems, and could have dire consequences.
First- the movie is beautifully photographed. Absolutely gorgeous. It is almost so pretty that it distracts from the movie itself. Polanski has substituted the Northern Coast of Germany for Cape Cod, and cinematographer Pawel Edelman captures it in beautiful cobalt blues and grays.
Secondly- the performances are by and large fantastic. The usually stiff Pierce Brosnan is smarmy and stately as ex-Prime Minster Adam Lang, Ewan McGregor borders on being a Woody Allen-nebbish as the Ghost Writer, and Olivia Williams shows them all up as Ruth Lang, Brosnan’s wife. James Belushi and Timothy Hutton give delightful performances in what are no more than brief cameos, and Tom Wilkinson is sinister in a role that reminds me of some of Hitchcock’s best mystery men. The one low point is Kim Cattrall’s cardboard performance as Lang’s secretary/ mistress. She seems to not know where she is supposed to be or what accent she is supposed to be doing as she waffles between an American and British accent for most of the film.
The movie is, for the first time in a long time, something that is reminiscent of Hitchcock in its story, its intrigue, and its ability to build tension. It is the first time in a long time that I can remember actually tensing in my seat as the movie built speed toward its climax. I would rather not give away the ending, but it features one of the best reveals in recent cinema.
I highly recommend viewing The Ghost Writer, perhaps the best movie that is in the theaters during this dead zone between the Oscar season and the coming summer-blockbuster explosion-fest.