Film File - The Ghost Writer

Despite the legal troubles going back decades that continue to follow him, Roman Polanski continues to produce exceptional films. Even at 76, his stylish polish on 'The Ghost Writer' underlines the creative flair which made him an international star with films like 'Chinatown', 'Frantic' and 'The Pianist'. His latest, based on the novel by Robert Harris, is a political thriller reminiscent of 'Chinatown' in its examination of political corruption and the loss of morality in the highest political circles. Opening with the apparent accidental drowning of a writer who falls overboard from a car ferry while ghost writing the autobiography of former British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), this prompts the need for a new writer to finish the book. Enter Ewan McGregor, known only as 'the ghost' to complete the supposedly dull-as-dishwater memoirs. The new ghost steps into the dead man's shoes at Lang's ultra-secure hideaway on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. In a house hidden from the public eye and monitored by security around the clock, the ghost has only a few weeks to complete the manuscript in the company of Lang's disenchanted wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams); his personal assistant and mistress, Amelia (Kim Cattrall), and a few tight-lipped staff. Opting to stay initially at a local inn rather than the claustrophobic confines of the house, the ghost eventually moves to the estate's beach house, where his deceased predecessor stayed, when news breaks that Lang will be charged with war crimes and the area becomes overrun with news media looking for a story. Finding a hidden packet of pictures and notes relating to the ex-PM's life that don't tie in with the supposed facts in the book, the ghost is slowly thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse where secrets and lies start to unfold - as well as a definite danger to his life. In the hands of a lesser director, this complex plot might have spiralled out of control but, in the hands of Polanski, the audience is led, clue by clue, into a web of spin where shocks and surprises are loosed out at just the right moments. Given that Lang is an obvious stand-in for Tony Blair, the film asks the question of why Britain took the same stance as the US in the Iraq invasion - and provides an interesting answer. Given that Polanski was arrested in September 2009 in Switzerland, post-production was never put on hold, with the director finishing the editing while in a Swiss prison. Because he could not set foot in the USA due to a longstanding arrest warrant, Germany was made to look like Massachusetts with most filming taking place on the island of Sylt as a stand-in for Martha's Vineyard. Harris, a former BBC reporter and political columnist who actively supported Blair until the Iraq War, dropped his other work to write 'The Ghost Writer', partly as a protest against the conflict. 'The Ghost Writer' is no shoot 'em up Saturday night actioner for the teen crowd; rather, it is an assured political thriller about abuse of power and how bad decisions are often made by a few misguided politicians. For Polanski, it is a triumph.