The Ghost Writer

At last year's Sydney Film Festival I saw the excellent documentary 'Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired'. Now just as a new ending is being created for that film I see the director's latest effort.

Many of you know that I'm writing a film script. It is a detective story and one of my main influences for the story is Roman Polanski's 'Chinatown'. It is one of the classics of cinema and one of the best examples of a perfectly written script. It is also an early example of Roman's brilliance at directing a thriller. He is the master at creating tension and there is a lot of that here. Even the setting provides a certain amount of tension and foreboding as our hero uncovers the various layers of the secret he has become involved in. The story makes not secret about who it is based on. It also brings up an interesting twist at the end which shed light in whose life the film is influenced by. Something I think a lot of people would have suspected. While there is a good deal of tension in the story it does not become overbearing. Roman knows how to dole out the tension when the story deserves it. There is also a great deal of levity as well. These funny moments help accentuate the more absurd moments in the film.


Ewan McGregor has the right sort of nerdy quality that suits this role. He is able to play someone on the outside of all the politics and issues involved, but manages to get swept along. Despite his hero status in previous films, Ewan can play the more heroic moments like an ordinary guy who is out of his depth. I think Pierce Brosnan has done some of his best work post-Bond. This is a good example. He plays the arrogance of someone whose been given power and thinks that whatever he does is right, even if it is morally questionable. Olivia Williams is always great at playing cold but seductive women. The real suprise is Kim Cattrall. While I'm no expert I think she does a good English accent and give a very good performance in a minor role that you know she only took so she could have a Roman Polanski film on her resume.


A clever adult thriller that we do not get to see many of these days. It also proves that Roman has not lost his touch as a quality film maker.