Commentary on Movies and TV by Brian Holcomb

Sunday, February 28, 2010

THE GHOST WRITER Film Review


by Brian Holcomb

I am consistently amazed at Roman Polanski's seemingly effortless mastery of cinematic craft. I say "seemingly" because such effortlessness is rarely achieved without hard work. But onscreen, there is no wasted energy and no indulgence. Polanski is without doubt an "auteur" but he feels no need to remind us of this. He simply has a story to tell and applies the precise tools to the job at hand. His wisdom comes from the realization that great films are made by really telling the story. For most filmmakers cinematic storytelling means nothing more than getting all the beats of the plot in the proper order and recording the events on camera. For Polanski, a film story is much more than just "Following the mysterious drowning of his predecessor, a gifted author hired to ghostwrite the memoirs of a controversial former British Prime Minister becomes a hunted man when he uncovers explosive secrets about the past." That's Robert Harris' novel The Ghost in a nutshell. Any number of filmmakers could film the mechanics of this narrative in a vaguely competent manner. Vaguely competent craft did nothing to hurt the box office of a really awful film like The Da Vinci Code for example.

To "really" tell the story, Polanski does everything in his power to feed the audience's imagination. As they say, the devil is in the details and for Polanski it seems that he takes this literally. For example, The Ghost Writer is largely set at a rainswept beach house that the former Prime Minister keeps in Martha's Vineyard. Polanski knows that in telling the story everything depends on the specifics. Exactly what kind of house would a man in his position own? What would it say about his personality or his existence? He then probes the atmospherics of the environment itself. People do not exist in a vacuum. They must live within nature itself whether it's a comfortably warm spring or the coldest day of winter. This also has an effect on the story. In this film, we find ourselves trapped in a claustrophobic fortress of a beach house that sits by a raging sea during the winter. Everything is so cold and soaking wet that the characters feel the pressure within and without.

What results is not something that can be pulled apart easily but a complex totality that equals the sum of all the careful choices made throughout. Even a "throwaway" scene of the ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) sitting in his London flat has the complete authenticity of a lived in space. The details root the characters in a coherent world. The sharply motivated characters root the plot in a coherent series of actions. Even the most mundane of dialogue scenes in the film has a certain wit due to the fact that every character in the scene seems poised with his or her own clear agenda. Everyone is up to something and their actions are all in some way, manipulative. The first meeting between Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) and his new ghost writer has him sweating from a morning run and sitting on the couch with his legs wide open as though he was waiting for the young man to "service" him. The dialogue is accompanied by smiles but what lies beneath is an expression of power. A brief chat late in the film between the ghost writer and a quiet, seemingly unassuming man named Paul Emmett(Tom Wilkinson)has so much tension you almost expect the room to explode.

The Ghost Writer is the kind of story that often does not work because the filmmaker fails to find the proper balance between ambiguity and outright incomprehension. It's important to keep the audience watching exactly what needs to be watched in order to follow the narrative. Many filmmakers cannot separate the wheat from the chaff and the result is a muddle. What Polanski has done here is to focus the attention on the primary mysteries in the narrative and leave much of the follow-up questions and details simply suggested onscreen. He does this in a very sly manner as always with images that create impressions in the mind that you play back later when there is more context. A statement about flashlights on the beach witnessed on the night the former ghost writer drowned is echoed by an image of the Prime Minister's wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) going for a night walk followed by her bodyguard armed with a flashlight.

Polanski's eye for casting has lost none of its edge, particularly among the supporting roles. A shockingly bald James Belushi registers immediately as a no nonsense book publisher, Kim Cattrall reminds you that she once played other roles besides Samantha, Eli Wallach still seems as vibrant as he was in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Tom Wilkinson nearly takes over the movie in his 5 minutes onscreen. As for the main cast, Brosnan's slightly detached air is used very well in the role of a Prime Minister who was a former actor and Olivia Williams gives a very complex performance in what could've been a completely lame femme fatale role. But the real surprise is Ewan McGregor who finally fulfills the promise he displayed a decade ago as a bona fide leading man. McGregor carries the film very well and with great charm and humor.

Humor is one of the film's real surprises too. Though The Ghost Writer is a conspiracy thriller, it's not what Stephen King once referred to as a "thudding humorless tract". It is actually a very funny film with some wonderfully cynical dialogue delivered with deadpan skill by McGregor and cast. Polanski has plenty of time to include his characteristic absurdist touches as well. A strange running gag about sandwiches may not register with some but a great visual joke involving the beach house caretaker's futile attempts to sweep up the deck amid howling winds presents the entire film in a single image. As Mcgregor says near the end of the film, "None of this will fucking matter." Polanski says just as much in the film's witty final shot. It's cruel, tragic, shocking, clever and absolutely hilarious at the same time. Most of all, it seemed completely effortless.



Dir. Roman Polanski. 2010. PG-13. 128mins. Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson, James Belushi, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach

KINETOFILM SCORE: 5/5

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

This movie is full of suspense. The acting was first grade and the writing is impressive. I am big fan of this movie and found it very enjoyable.
The Ghost Writer Quotes

aliyaa said...

It's fascinating.I am very pleased to find this site.I wanted to thank you for this great read I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have bookmarked. If any writer are interested in ghost writing then click here essay ghost writer. I am surely say that you will take benefit from this site.

Ghostwriter said...

I like the dialogues and the acting. Roman Polanski really knows how to make a great movie

Unknown said...

Helpful post.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Brian Holcomb for talking about Ghostwriter Film review. I have read your full review. I am very interested about this post. I also share a resource like ghost writer. You can compare http://www.thesisghostwriter.com/

Keith F. Mount said...

thANKS

Keith F. Mount said...

There are some negative purposes of innovation, for example, diversion, the most critical thing that impacts the instruction as kids begin enthusiasm for different exercises on web like recreations applications and long range interpersonal communication confront book and so on.

mashor gulati said...

This blog is about a feel review. With the help of film review we can understand it easily as we can understand website with the help of outline. so this is a best blog.

bridgetaloos said...

This is true facts that great films are made of best script so the script of this movie was awesome. The ghost writers have made this film successful. Amazing filmand audience have loved it! So click to explore more ideas of writing ghost writing.

Christopher Blevins said...

This website is all about the real feel evaluation. By using movie evaluation we are able to realize this very easily once we may realize click to read by using describe. therefore this can be the greatest weblog.

Unknown said...

I really do not see much of movie review from the ghost writers as they always love to talk about the problem and solution of people. this site will give you some handy tips and guide to write your term and others academic papers.

Anonymous said...

Ghost writing is something that a filmmaker has made movie on it. This film has proved that how important is ghost writing that hold balance between these platforms. So visit this page to get better idea.

stevenjocb said...

Wikipedia is best

Anonymous said...

Sometimes you need to get the important notification of yours and this is why the summaring the notifications are needed. http://technical.proposalwritingservice.com/ that is very helpful for the academic papers writing.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes you need to follow some great people so that you can learn their things but sometimes you follow people so that you cannot miss them. http://www.rewording.net/online-rewording-tool/ to check the recent guide and tips about the academic writing.

Johnnie S. Werth said...

I really love the review here but it is really tough to get the author name and I really wish that he will reveal it one day. here for more help on your writing.

bollings said...

One of the finest movie I have seen is this and you have said things perfectly here about the whole concept of this movie. here to check the recent guide and tips about the academic writing.

nill said...

I always wanted to be a ghost writer once and then one of my friend tell me that only the coward follow that step. http://www.manualwriting.net/how-to-write-a-flawless-safety-manual/ to find out more helpful tips on writing.

Gary P Henderson said...

At times you should have the crucial notification regarding the one you have and also this is the reason the particular summering the particular announcements are expected.https://www.rephraser.net/mla-paraphrase-help/ which is beneficial for your school paperwork creating.

Ghostwriting Services said...

"The Ghost Writer," directed by Roman Polanski, is a gripping political thriller. Ewan McGregor plays a ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan). The film expertly weaves suspense and intrigue, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats with its compelling plot, strong performances, and atmospheric cinematography.