The Ghost Writer

If you enjoy a good political thriller think twice about seeing The Ghost Writer. If, however, you believe (as I do also) that a little bit of Ewan McGregor can cover over a multitude of cinematic sins then head straight to the box office…

If you enjoy a good political thriller as much as I do then I suggest you think twice about seeing The Ghost Writer. If, however, you believe (as I do also) that a little bit of Ewan McGregor can cover over a multitude of cinematic sins then head straight to the box office quick smart!

I should have known that anything directed and co-written by the slightly creepy Roman Polanski might be unusual but I went along anyway with high hopes. Interestingly, post-production for the film had to be completed from Polanski’s Swiss villa since he was under house arrest at the time for unmentionable crimes and was also unable to attend the world premier for the same reason.

The Ghost Writer is billed as a political thriller though the scariest part about it for me was probably the bad British accents. There were also times when I found myself laughing out loud at the predictability or corniness of the storyline. As we left the cinema, my plus-one said, ‘well, that’s two hours of my life I’m never going to get back,’ but I found the film easy enough to take and worth a look.

Veteran star Pierce Brosnan plays the Prime Minister and Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall plays his personal assistant and mistress (cue the eye-rolling).

Though the little-known Olivia Williams arguably give the strongest performance in the film as the Prime Minister’s wife, I found her to be equally capricious and irritating as I tried to figure out her role in the situation.

That aside, the film is based on a Richard Harris novel entitled The Ghost that tells the mostly fictional tale of a former British Prime Minister and the mysteries surrounding the writing of his memoirs. It is understood that the Prime Minister’s character was inspired by Tony Blair – just as it was in the novel – and his cozy relationship with the United States.

Other characters are also said to resemble their real-life counterparts: Condoleezza Rice and Robin Cook, though I can’t claim to be politically clued-up enough to have found this significant myself. To me it was just a story: a grey, quiet, sometimes intriguing story.

The Ghost Writer is playing in cinemas now.

by Jasmine Pearson, 11 November 2010.