Wacky’s Movie Review: The Ghost Writer

Featured — February 25, 2010 at 16:00

The Plot

Ewan McGregor plays a ghost writer hired by Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), an ex-British Prime Minister, who enlists his help to finish writing his memoirs after the presumed suicide of the previous assistant. After going to the U.S. East Coast to meet with Lang, the ghost writer inadvertently learns more than he expected. This includes finding out secrets about Lang, Lang’s aide Amelia(Kim Cattrell) and wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) and more that could put the ghost writer in a dangerous spot.

The Good

* I suppose you have to give the devil his due. Roman Polanski is an exceptional director and this movie proves that fact.
* A stylish, intelligent thriller
* Numerous effective twists and turns to keep moviegoers intrigued
* A cast with surprisingly decent performances, but Olivia Williams steals the show

The Not-So-Bad

* It’s good to see Kim Cattrall appearing in something outside of Sex and the City. Her screen roles over the years- most of them mediocre- have not fully used her at her best capacity, but The Ghost Writer showed that she is capable of much more as an actress
* Good to know that the legendary Eli Wallach is still alive and working.

The Kinda’ Ugly

* While I do have to admit that Roman Polanski is a good director, I still feel that the film community continues to enable him to profit, even though he admitted to molesting an underage girl and fled to Europe to avoid the possibility of serving time. Somehow, it’s hard to watch this movie without that being in the back of your mind.