The Ghost Writer (2010)

A ghost writer, hired to complete the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister, uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Robert Harris (screenplay), Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Stars:

Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams

33 wins & 55 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewan McGregor	...	The Ghost
Jon Bernthal	...	Rick Ricardelli
Tim Preece	...	Roy
Jim Belushi	...	John Maddox (as James Belushi)
Timothy Hutton	...	Sidney Kroll
Anna Botting	...	SKY TV Newsreader
Yvonne Tomlinson	...	Stewardess
Milton Welsh	...	Taxi Driver
Alister Mazzotti	...	Protection Officer #1
Tim Faraday	...	Barry
Kim Cattrall	...	Amelia Bly
Kate Copeland	...	Alice
Soogi Kang	...	Dep
Lee Hong Thay	...	Duc
Olivia Williams	...	Ruth Lang

Storyline

An unremarkable ghost-writer has landed a lucrative contract to redact the memoirs of Adam Lang, the former UK Prime Minister. After dominating British politics for years, Lang is campaigning for his foundation with his wife in the USA. He lives on an island, in luxurious, isolated premises complete with a security detail and a secretarial staff. Soon, Adam Lang gets embroiled in a major scandal with international ramifications that reveals how far he was ready to go in order to nurture UK's "special relationship" with the USA. But before this controversy has started, before even he has closed the deal with the publisher, the ghost-writer gets unmistakable signs that the turgid draft he is tasked to put into shape inexplicably constitutes highly sensitive material.

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Plot Keywords:

memoir | writer | ferry | political thriller | beach house | 

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Taglines:

Read between the lies.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, brief nudity/sexuality, some violence and a drug reference

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

France Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Ghost Writer

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$183,009, 21 February 2010

Gross USA:

$15,541,549

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$60,331,447

Company Credits

Production Co:

R.P. Productions, France 2 Cinéma, Studio Babelsberg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nicolas Cage was cast as The Ghost, but he dropped out after the film was postponed.

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Goofs

Lang mentions an article in the "London Times". While it's true that Londoners call their newspaper only "The Times", he was in the US, where "The Times" is taken to mean the New York newspaper. Lang said "London Times" for the benefit of his US audience.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Ghost: You realize I know nothing about politics.
Rick Ricardelli: You voted for him, didn't you?
The Ghost: Adam Lang? Of course I did, everyone voted for him. He wasn't a politician, he was a craze.

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Crazy Credits

The title appears as highlighted words on pages of the scattered manuscript.

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Alternate Versions

The version released on Blu-ray in Norway has some curse words dubbed over. At the motel reception you can clearly see McGregor mouthing something else than "shit".

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Connections

Featured in Richard Roeper & the Movies: Report Card: First Quarter of 2010 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Marcia Funebre
Allegro Assai from Beethoven's Symphony No. 3
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Performed by Symphony Nova Scotia
Conducted by Georg Tintner
Courtesy of Naxos of America, Inc.

User Reviews

A great thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock (and Rosemary's Baby)

This is a connoisseur's movie. It needs to be consumed slowly and deliberately to truly enjoy everything that has gone into it. Watch it carefully, there is a lot going on under the surface.

Yes, it's a thriller, and as such parts of it are fast paced, but what it does so well is to misdirect your attention for a while before snapping you back to focus.

There are no wasted words, nor gratuitous scenes in this movie. Just like a Hitchcock movie, the scenes are all necessary, even if they are symbolic.

The acting is first rate, and I say that because much of the tension in the movie comes from the way the characters act, not special effects, not plot points hammered in over and over again.

It is a very dark movie, and the darkness is nicely set off by humor and sarcasm in a few spots.