The Ghost Writer

Director Alfred Hitchcock died 30 years ago, but his genius casts long, indelible shadows. A distinctly Hitchcockian dread and menace hang over The Ghost Writer, the gripping, witty and shrewd new thriller from director Roman Polanski. Based on a novel by Robert Harris and a screenplay by Harris and Polanski, the movie stars Pierce Brosnan as a former British prime minister working on his memoirs with ghost writer Ewan McGregor in a fortress-like home on a bleakly beautiful New England island. The sleek surfaces and glass walls of the home begin to close in as damning accusations of war crimes mount against the smooth-talking politician who has had a too-chummy relationship with an irresponsible American president.

Torture. Rendition. Deep CIA complicity. Sound familiar? Ewan McGregor (terrific and revitalized) plays the sardonic ghost writer of Brosnan’s memoirs—who, in classic Hitchcock “average man in extraordinary circumstances” style—finds himself in way over his head when he gets too close to the politician’s wife Olivia Williams (a standout performance) while ferreting out the nasty circumstances under which Brosnan’s previous ghost writer died. Polanski plays things hushed and muted here, avoiding hokey conventions of contemporary thrillers (chases, explosions) which may frustrate audience members who prefer their clichés served straight up. Aided by Alexandre Desplat’s jittery score and Pawel Edelman’s understated cinematography, the director plays every shot as if threat and danger were prowling just beyond the frame. Brosnan is especially polished and expert and, while a cat-and-mouse confrontation and subsequent car pursuit involving McGregor and the sterling Tom Wilkinson are among the best things in the film, almost everything involving Kim Cattrall as Brosnan’s assistant and lover feels overripe.

Polanski isn’t working with Chinatown-level material here, so don’t expect The Ghost Writer to haunt the memory the way that earlier film does, let alone Polanski’s Repulsion, Knife in Water or Rosemary’s Baby. Still, it’s clear that The Ghost Writer is the work of a chess master capable of brilliant moves even with one hand tied behind his back.