The Ghost Writer(2010)

A ghostwriter is hired by a publishing firm to complete the autobiography of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang. The Ghost's predecessor and Lang's aide, Mike McAra, has recently died in a drowning accident. The Ghost travels to Old Haven on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where Lang and his wife Ruth are staying.

The Ghost Writer(2010)

In Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer," a man without a past rattles around in the life of a man with too much of one. He begins by reading the work of an earlier ghost who mysteriously drowned, and finds it boring and conventional. Hired to pep up the manuscript to justify a $10 million advance, he discovers material to make it exciting, all right, and possibly deadly.

Just as his new ghost writer starts work, Lang is accused by his former foreign minister of sanctioning the kidnapping and torture of suspects. The World Court prepares an indictment. It would be unwise for Lang to return to Britain, and he flees to Washington for a photo op with the U.S. administration, unnamed, although the Secretary of State looks a whole lot like Condi Rice.

The film opens with an unoccupied car left abandoned on a ferry while a body washes up on a nearby beach near the Massachusetts retreat of ex-British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). It turns out that the dead man was the ghost writer of Lang's autobiography and a replacement has to be found quickly in order to ensure the publication date doesn't slip. The job goes to the movie's unnamed protagonist (Ewan McGregor), who finds himself thrust into the midst of a maelstrom of personal and political crises. Lang is about to be charged by the World Court for crimes against humanity, his former close political ally Richard Rycart (Robert Pugh) has turned against him, and his wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), has lost patience over his brazen affair with his assistant, Amelia (Kim Cattrall). As the Ghost Writer begins to dig, he uncovers information that puts his life in danger.

A ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) is recruited to complete the autobiography of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), after the previous writer Mike McAra died by drowning. The ghostwriter travels to Martha's Vineyard, where Lang now lives with his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) and assistant Amelia (Kim Cattrall). As soon as the ghostwriter starts to polish-up the book manuscript, Lang is accused of war crimes by his former Foreign Secretary Richard Rycart (Robert Pugh). Lang's entourage swings into damage control.

The ghostwriter uncovers inconsistencies in the former PM's stories about his entry into politics while at Cambridge, and is then thrust into the middle of Adam and Ruth's disintegrating marriage. He then starts probing Lang's shady connections to Harvard Professor Paul Emmett (Tom Wilkinson), and finds his own life in danger.

The Ghost Writer is never less than engaging, but eventually detaches from fundamentals. The sub-quests start tripping on each other and Polanski appears unsure which story to chase. War crimes, typical CIA shenanigans, a broken marriage, secrets and lies from yonder years, a dead body washed up on the rugged coast, the threat of assassination by an unhinged assailant, and finally cliche thriller chase elements are crammed into a few days of the ghost writer's life. If only pompous political memoirs could really be this exciting.All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.

Tony:Finally got around to seeing this film a few days ago (on a flight back from Italy, of all places!). Excellent writeup as usual and nice insight about the major female characters in this film ad the ghost writer's relationship with them. I didn't catch that at first, but that's because of the beauty of the narrative as well as Polanski's direction. Did you note the over the shoulder camera work as the ghost writer heads to the ferry after the visit to Professor Emmet's house? Very reminiscent of a few scenes in Chinatown.

Craving mystery? This is the film for you. A writer (Ewan McGregor) is given the lucrative task of bringing to life the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former British Prime Minister. Lang, now retired in an island in America, was once one of the world's most influential politicians. When a scandal erupts about him, which reveals details about his approach to the relationship between America and Britain, the ghost writer finds himself in the possession of highly sensitive material and dealing with many interested parties.

A British writer (Ewan MacGregor) is hired to be ex-Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) "ghost," meaning he will be revising the politician's memoirs. The original ghost writer washed up on the shores of Martha's Vineyard, presumably a suicide or the victim of an accidental drowning. Before he even sets foot on the Vineyard estate in which the PM is holed up, MacGregor's character is mugged -- just the beginning of a series of mishaps that grow increasingly fraught with malevolence. Then, Lang is accused of war crimes. Soon after embarking on the project, the new ghost writer discovers untruths, not including the unraveling of the PM's marriage (Olivia Williams plays the wife), that point to a scandal of international proportions. The writer might just end up like his predecessor.

When Ruth Lang and the ghostwriter are watching CNN's breaking news on television, the information bar at the bottom of the news screen identifies Lang as: "FMR Bristish PM". This must be an intentional typo that alludes to the commonly misspelled words on CNN.

After a ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is hired to write the autobiography of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan), he uncovers a secret that puts him, and the recent history and reputation of the country, at risk. Also with Kim Cattrall, Jim Belushi and Olivia Williams. Directed by Roman Polanski. [2:08]

A dream job turns into a nightmare for an aspiring ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) after he agrees to pen the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Peirce Brosnan). Directed by Roman Polanski, this thriller is based on a book by Robert Harris.

When an unremarkable ghostwriter is hired to finish the memoirs of the former Prime Minister, what appears like the opportunity of a lifetime has him walking a tightrope as he stumbles across clues...Read more that his predecessor may have been killed when he learned of the minister's treasonous secret.

When an unremarkable ghostwriter is hired to finish the memoirs of the former Prime Minister, what appears like the opportunity of a lifetime has him walking a tightrope as he...Read more stumbles across clues that his predecessor may have been killed when he learned of the minister's treasonous secret.

This mystery thriller stars the brilliant Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor. McGregor takes the lead, playing a ghostwriter who is hired to complete memoirs for a British Prime Minister. However, in the process, he reveals secrets that put his own life at risk. 041b061a72