Sadly Roman Polanski is more notorious for the controversial and tragic events in his life than for the films he has made, but the Oscar-winning director has created an impressive body of work, added to which is The Ghost. Co-written with Robert Harris, on whose novel it was based, this ranks alongside Polanski’s very best.
Finished just before he was put under house arrest in Switzerland, this suspenseful political thriller touches on themes familiar to many of the 77 year-old director’s films. In particular it explores how someone can be inadvertently pulled into a situation that forces them to make impossibly difficult decisions. Or, as John Huston’s character stated in Polanski’s masterful Chinatown, “Most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and right place, they’re capable of anything.” It’s a prophetic line given the incident a few years later that forced Polanski to flee America.
Here the titular character (Ewan McGregor), whose simply listed as The Ghost, is given the assignment of working on the autobiography of ex-British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) following the apparent accidental death of the previous ghost writer. But having arrived at Lang’s beachfront retreat on Martha’s Vineyard, the Ghost finds himself thrust into a political firestorm. In addition to which he begins to uncover evidence to suggest his predecessor’s death may not have been accidental.
The film’s coastal, winter setting bathes everything in a grey, chilling light. The location’s remoteness also adds to the disquieting atmosphere. The Ghost Writer’s pervasive tension and sense of mystery is established from the opening scene and continues until the last memorable frames, providing firm evidence of Polanski’s enduring skill.
One of the film’s central motifs, involving a disgraced leader finding himself accountable for human rights violations carried out under his watch, is recognizable in its parallels to recent true life events in America. Superbly plotted, the story is tightly wound, unraveling as it does in a series of beguiling twists. At its centre is the Ghost who is both under pressure to fulfill a pressing deadline and to quickly come to terms with the dangerous situation he’s in. Thrust into an unfamiliar environment, in order to safely navigate his way around he is forced to quickly assess the roles of those he meets, which include Lang’s wife Ruth (Olivia Williams), his assistant and mistress Amelia (Kim Cattrall) and a past acquaintance of Lang’s (Tom Wilkinson). In one crucial scene, the Ghost’s search for truth leads him to the isolated home of an elderly local (a wonderful cameo by Eli Wallach). The forthright manner and honesty of the humble man stands in stark contrast to the cryptic behavior of everyone else he encounters.
The most frightening stories are not ones set in an improbable world or involving mythical creatures, but ones that are realistic, that we are familiar with. It’s the realization that it would be all too easy to find oneself in a similar situation to the one the Ghost is confronted with that makes this such a powerful and disturbing film.
Kevin Murphy
