THE GHOST WRITER

ROMAN POLANKI'S new film THE GHOST WRITER is an example of an excellent film with a great plot, great story, suspense, tension & irony. a throw back to old time filmmaking, told in a modern setting without any SGI!

based on the book THE GHOST by robert harris, polanski starts off subtle, building gradually with each scene, the suspense continuously building, like a steady dam, with the climax of the film ready to burst at the seams.

ewan mcgregor is perfectly cast as a modern day jimmy steward/cary grant-like protagonist with kim cattrall, (very well acted) as his eve-marie saint-ish. bold and aloof, and equally breathy and sexy. in fact all the characters in the film are fully played out, just broad enough to give hints of under-layers, but not giving the whole thing away.

i also really loved the way polanski combines famous figures into each character~

ewan mcgregor as the ghost= jimmy stewart + cary grant

pierce bronson as adam lang= tony blair + ronald reagan

olivia williams as ruth lang= nancy Reagan + mary lincoln, with a little lucrezia borgia

kim catrelle as amelia bly= eve-marie saint + grace kelly

tom wilkenson as paul emmett= dick cheney & karl rove

also look for the great cameo of a condoleezza rice-type character towards the end.

the art direction & locations of filming so modern & austere, lonely and foreboding, a nod to hitchcock without any rip-off.,..
a true gem.. this film will get better with age.
because of the current media attention to polanki's private problems of 30-some years ago, (and american's hypocrisy to all things sex) i'm sure the american response will be luke warm, but for the person that loves films and filmmaking,
this one is for you.

here's a great interview with ewan mcgregor who let's dumbo journalist george stephanopoulos, (former white house communications director) have it with wit and intelligence-