Cinema surveillance images are loading at the bottom of the page
The ghost writer - Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Roman Polanski
Threat advisory: Elevated - Significant risk of entertaining activities
Movie propaganda
When a successful British ghost-writer, The Ghost (Ewan McGregor), agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), his agent assures him it's the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start - not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang's long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.
The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an ocean-front house on an island off the US Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorising the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA - a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his personal assistant (and mistress), Amelia (Kim Cattrall). As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA - and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost's predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?
Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level - sexual, political and literary. In a world in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems, The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly - and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it.
Theatrical propaganda posters
Target demographic movie keyword propaganda
- Film drama thriller UK book author biography Prime Minister war crime torture terror political secrets media swarm mystery
Persons of interest
- Ewan McGregor .... The Ghost
- Jon Bernthal .... Rick Ricardelli
- Kim Cattrall .... Amelia Bly
- Pierce Brosnan .... Adam Lang
- Tim Preece .... Roy
- James Belushi .... John Maddox
- Olivia Williams .... Ruth Lang
- Timothy Hutton .... Sidney Kroll
- Tom Wilkinson .... Paul Emmett
- Tim Faraday .... Barry
- Marianne Graffam .... Lucy
- Kate Copeland .... Alice
- Soogi Kang .... Dep
- Lee Hong Thay .... Duc
- Nyasha Hatendi .... Josh
- Daphne Alexander .... Connie
- Robert Pugh .... Richard Rycart
- Desirée Erasmus .... Nancy Emmett
- Jeff Burrell .... Frank
- Daniel Sutton .... Hatherton Stewart
- Robert Harris ... Author: The Ghost
- Robert Harris .... Screenwriter
- Roman Polanski .... Screenwriter
- Roman Polanski .... Director
Cinematic intelligence sources
- The ghost writer official movie sites:
- Australia
- International
- The ghost writer film production notes
- The ghost writer movie trailers:
- Awards and film festivals:
- Berlin International Film Festival 2010: Won: Silver Berlin Bear Best Director (Roman Polanski); Nominated: Golden Berlin Bear (Roman Polanski)
- Studios and distributors:
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
Politicians are full of shit and the only thing that keeps them around is the threat that without them, we would have to do their job.
*Shudders*
The ghost writer is about a Tony Blairoid who comes up against the shit as his chickens come home to roost. Or is it cows? Not too good on identifying the farm animals; my meat comes in a plastic tray. The thriller part comes from the fact that every character in this film can play the political game except our hero, played by the eminently empathetic Ewan McGregor. Everyone loves an underdog, especially one who is set on the trail of foul play. What makes it interesting is that this underdog is a small fish in a big pond and the sharks are circling. Has he bitten off more than he can chew? Or will I run out of clichés before the mystery can be unravelled?
As a convicted paedophile, Roman Polanski leaves a lot to be desired, but as a film director he can certainly turn on the juice. The only annoying bit about this film is that there's a lot of rear-projection of the exterior in the interior scenes. Special effects dudes can do a lot better than they did in this film. Still worth seeing, but.
The drama, thriller, UK movie The ghost writer is directed by Roman Polanski and stars Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall.
Government security censorship classification
MA 15+ (Strong coarse language)
Surveillance time
128 minutes (2:08 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
Film: 12 August 2010
Cinema surveillance images
