The Ghost Writer

Movie / Show Details

Amazon.com Review

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanksi (The Pianist) teams up with author-screenwriter Robert Harris (Enigma) for this twisty political thriller. Ewan McGregor plays an unnamed ghostwriter who signs on to pen the memoirs of former British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The money is good, but there’s a catch: the ghost’s predecessor perished under mysterious circumstances (his body washed up on the shore in an apparent suicide). Being the adventurous sort, the ghost puts that information aside and travels to Lang’s austere compound on Martha’s Vineyard, where he meets Lang’s efficient personal secretary, Amelia (Kim Cattrall, good but for an inconsistent accent), and acerbic wife, Ruth (An Education’s Olivia Williams). Just as he’s wading through Lang’s dull text, the PM’s ex-cabinet minister accuses him of handing over suspected terrorists to the CIA, fully aware that torture would be on the agenda. The next thing the ghost knows, he’s working for a possible war criminal, and the deeper he digs, the more convinced he becomes that Lang is lying about his past. After exchanging a few words with a sharp-eyed old man (Eli Wallach) and a tight-lipped professor (Tom Wilkinson), he realizes his life may also be at risk. Then, while Lang hits the road to proclaim his innocence, the ghost gets to know Ruth better–much better. If the conclusion feels a little glib, Polanksi tightens the screws with skill, McGregor enjoys his best role in years, and Williams proves she’s fully prepared to carry a movie of her own. –Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

Following the mysterious death of an acclaimed ghost writer, a replacement writer is sent to an isolated compound to pen the memoirs of a former prime minister, and unknowingly becomes embroiled in a high stakes, international conspiracy that has deadly consequences.

About the Author

Ewan McGregor was born in Perthshire in 1971. An actor who has appeared in more than thirty films — “Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine, Moulin Rouge, ” and the second “Star Wars” trilogy among them — he rides an MV Augusta F4S and a KTM Duke. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

Tilda Swinton is an Academy Award-winning actress whose film debut in Derek Jarman’s Caravaggio marked the beginning of a close association with the director. She lives in Scotland.

Kim Cattrall, award-winning actress and producer, is known to millions of devoted fans around the world for her trailblazing role as Samantha Jones in the smash hit TV series Sex and the City. Born in Liverpool, England, and raised in Canada, she moved to New York at the age of sixteen to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Everything I Ever Learned About Being a Girl is her third book, the first for a young adult audience.

Jim Belushi, star of According to Jim and Saturday Night Live alum, has starred in several TV series and featured films during his career. His list of credits includes About Last Night, the K-9 franchise, Taking Care of Business, Oliver Stone s Salvador, and Gang Related. In addition to performing in David Marnet s Obie Award-winning play Sexual Perversity in Chicago, he has starred in other acclaimed productions for the stage such as True West and The Pirates of Penzance. He was also a member of Chicago s famed Second City improvisational comedy troupe. He lives in California.

Born in Brooklyn in 1915, ELI WALLACH remains active in film and is still married to his wife of fifty-six years. He lives in New York City.