“The Ghost Writer” (2010)
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the incredibly compelling thriller “The Ghost Writer” is why, exactly, it wasn’t a bigger hit, both commercially and critically. Part of this had to do with the fact that Polanski was nabbed by authorities at a film festival around the time the film was being put together, and so the film strangely suffers from a kind of guilt by association. Not only that , but the prolonged saga that ensued was probably much more salaciously interesting to most people than the topline here: it’s story of a nameless ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) hired by a shamed, Tony Blair-ish former Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) to help write his memoir, albeit one riddled with potentially dangerous secrets. The poor reception is a huge shame given that “The Ghost Writer,” with its chilly cinematography by Pawel Edelman, and alternately haunting and playful score by Alexandre Desplat, was a rousing return to form, arguably just as good a thriller as anything in Polanski’s famed “apartment trilogy.” McGregor, after being embalmed in the “Star Wars” prequels, was showing the first signs of life in years and his performance was brittle, knowing, and truly funny. (His relationship with Olivia Williams, as Brosnan’s dissatisfied and possibly duplicitous wife, gives the movie a kicky, sexy emotional core.) Some found “The Ghost Writer” too stately and buttoned-up, emphasizing a slow burn over the powerful shocks Polanski was once known for, and while the running time could have been trimmed (it clocks in at a leisurely 128 minutes), its impact remains, right down to its deliciously black-hearted ending. It’s a genuinely strange, hilarious and unnerving late-in-the-game masterpiece. So deeply impressive was “The Ghost Writer” that “Carnage,” with all its measured propriety, feels like much more of a letdown. [A-]
— Kevin Jagernauth, Drew Taylor, Rodrigo Perez, Oliver Lyttelton, Erik McLanahan, Sam Chater, Gabe Toro
you shouldn't be writing mr."writer"! this whole thing is a pile of crap. next time – although i truly hope there will be no next time for you, please go and watch all of Polanski films instead of doing your research on wikipedia…
Film is a very, very personal matter, but it seems to me that you don't understand Polanski at all.
THE GHOST WRITER may not have been a financial blockbuster, but the critical reception was great. It has an 87% at Metacritic, with glowing reviews from most of the major critics like Roger Ebert, Kenneth Turan, etc calling it basically flawless. In fact, Metacritic doesn't show a single major critic giving it anything less than what it calculates as 60%.
The Ghost Writer stays true with the book, I think that's why it's poorly accepted.
Knife In The Water is Polanski's best. No guns, no blood, no rape, no foul play, no satanists, no mobsters, just pure tension is the violence.
I love when The Playlist does these, the Peter Weir one was a good read too. Is there a list of all the past ones anywhere?
Cul-de-Sac isn't considered "one of Polanski's best", and hence took so long to get a DVD release? Try it was in MGM's library and they just never bothered… then went bankrupt… then Criterion got the rights…. I don't see the connection between a film's lack of favorability critically and it's lack of a DVD release. Is A Brighter Summer Day henceforth lesser Edward Yang?
I also thought you guys hated The Ghost Writer. I think it was on like your "most disappointing" or "most overrated" films of 2010. I'm too lazy to back that up though.
'the ninth gate' is an underrated, great movie. why do i have to like depp's corso? isn't that the point?
I thought you hated the Ghost Writer (C- from an earlier review).
And Vampire Killers is underrated.
Has Polanski ever acknowledged that FRANTIC had its ending reshot? I've seen this story a few times online, always seemingly sourced from an imdb factoid. I've never seen Polanski or anyone else involved say anything one way or the other about it. I actually tend to believe it's true, as I've seen stills from the original version of a scene earlier in the film in a parking garage that was a first shot in the Paris Metro. I'd love to get confirmation of an alternate ending.