Ghost Writer, The

Posted May 24, 2012 by Speed - 0 comments

Former UK prime minister Alan Lang is working on his memoirs but when his ghost writer, Mike McAra, is found dead (presumably an accident or suicide) another one has to finish the job.

The new writer isn’t really anxious for the job as he’s not into politics, but because the money is good, he accepts the job nonetheless. He flies off to the remote island in the US where Lang has a modern house and start working but quickly after his arrival, Lang gets accused of having turned over some terrorist suspects to the CIA during his stay at Downing Street 10, knowing they would be tortured.

In the midst of the media storm, the writer tries to get through the work of his predecessor but stumbles upon some information that doesn’t seem to fit the story. When he does some further digging, he starts to suspect that McAra’s death may not have been an accident and that his own life may be in danger…

Sound and Vision:
We get toned down colors and the levels of black are a bit off here and there which results in certain scenes (especially the one in Professor Emmett’s study) looking a bit foggy. Overall, though, the image is sharp and detailed, and the contrast is excellent. The transfer does the movie justice.

We get a DTS-HD track which is very much focused on the front speakers and dialogues. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as the movie is dialogue-centered, but even then the minimal music and/or effects coming from the rear gets noticed.

Extras:
– Interview with Roman Polanski
– The Cast of Ghost Writer
– The Ghost Writer: Fiction or reality?

A few short extras where the interview with Polanksi is the most interesting

Conclusion:
It’s been a while since we’ve seen another movie by Roman Polanski but although the man is 77 years old and had to finish work on The Ghost Writer in his home due to an arrest warrant in the US, he’s still got it.

The Ghost Writer is a thriller that has a clear lack of action but makes up for that in a huge way by adding tension with little elements. Elements that work extraordinary well and keep you chained to your seat even when little seems to be going on. From the very first picture of the abandoned car on the ferry, to the last scene which we won’t disclose as we don’t want to spoil anything, Polanski manages to keep up an uncomfortable feeling that something is “off”.

The Ghost Writer proves again that “less is more” and that Polanski still has the touch of a great director. Must-have!

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