Ghost Writer: A Review

Is it possible that Roman Polanski was channeling Alfred Hitchcock when he directed The Ghost Writer? Not a chance. Well, maybe, after all, they are both known to be or rumored to be perverts. But Roman made this movie every bit as suspenseful, every bit as lyrical, every bit as atmospheric as The Birds, or The 39 Steps.

The wind, rain, and island isolation are not the only Hitchcockian touches at play here. There are lots of delicious shots where important action is happening on the other side of the door, and sometimes we can see through a crack or a window in the door. The music is very tense string action, like in the best Hitchcock films. There is a tight closeup of a note being passed, seemingly endlessly, through a crowd. The final shot is a fixed medium shot that delivers a devastating, inexorable ending. In short, the camera work and editing are superbly suspenseful.

I'll be honest, I did not like this movie for the first 10-20 minutes. I thought it was ponderous and ham fisted. But before long it hit its stride and I was enthralled. Part of my initial response was about the pacing. The progression of this film was measured and deliberate. Sometimes this comes across as slow. But I also find that political movies sometimes benefit from being a little slow. I'm not sure why, other than it reinforces the perception of deliberateness in the political characters.

Ghost Writer seemed to be its own ghost in many ways. Not only the strong echos of Hitchcock, but the actors looked vaguely like themselves. Was that Kim Cattrall with an English accent? I swear I have never looked so intently at her face and still not been certain it was her. And Pierce Brosnin appeared to be a caricature of himself. Than again, Pierce Brosnin often looks like a caricature of himself. There was also a lot of echoing in the scenes, as characters positioned themselves near each other, striking similar poses. It was quite odd sometimes, but interesting.

I spent the whole movie wondering where I'd seen I Olivia Williams, who played Ruth, the former Prime Minister's wife, before. Here's a weird thing: There is a scene in Professor Emmett's (Tom Wilkinson) house. For some reason the house reminded me of the Philadelphia home of the psychiatrist in Sixth Sense. Really, it was just the wall under the banister of the stairs, and the door to the space under the stairs. I was reminded of the rattling of the doorknob as Dr. Malcolm Crowe looked for his key to open the door under the stairs. When I finally looked the actress up in IMDB, turns out she played Anna Crowe, the psychiatrist's grieving wife. Cue eerie Twilight Zone music.

Here's the strangest thing: Why haven't I heard of this film? Where's the fanfare? Where's the hype? It's not like I've been on a media blackout. I simply had not heard of this movie before I looked to see what was playing at The Crest. My theory is that the film was released after the widely publicized arrest of Polanski in Switzerland. The sordid details of his crime have been rehashed ad nauseum in the press. It could be that the distributing company simply did not want any backlash. Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention. At any rate, I'm not sure this is Polanski's best film. I'm still favoring Knife in the Water, or Death and the Maiden. Nevertheless, it is definitely one of his finest moments as a director. As a political suspense film, it ranks right up there with The Contender for me.