THE GHOST WRITER 2.5****
This is the latest film from Roman Polanski who is the renown director of such classics as “Rosemary’s Baby”, “Chinatown” and “The Piano”. The word is that this movie was finished while he was in prison/house-arrest awaiting extradition to the USA for long pending child rape charges. In any event, he still knows how to mask good movies although I’m not a big fan of his style..classic, traditional but slow, oh so slow in developing A lot of time is spent with the characters driving from one place to another, the characters walking from one place to another and the characters pondering who knows what. Maybe this is supposed to build tension, but for me it only built boredom. Granted Polanski’s movies are technically and artistically superb, but they leave me cold and unconnected. Nonetheless , the critics have embraced this movie but I can only give it a lukewarm pat on the back.
Ewan McGregor is a writer hired to ghost write the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) after the previous collaborator commits suicide (maybe/maybe not). Almost immediately life begins to get complicated for McGregor (and muddled for me) as he is shuttled off to a fortress-like mansion on the New England Coast to work on the book and there encounters a trio of slightly-off kilter characters that Polanski is famous for. There's the puzzling, volatile Ex-Prime Minister himself; his caustic, mysterious wife (Olivia Williams); and his icy assistant/mistress (Kim Cattrall) and an assortment of strange and secretive supporting players who keep you guessing about what is going on right up to the Hitchcock-style shocking conclusion. As soon as the Ghost begins writing, controversy erupts around Former PM Lang who is accused of the kidnapping and torturing alleged terrorist ( yes, water boarding, etc..sound familiar). Lang ( who is a Tony Blair do-a-like) decides to stay put in the United States, where he is safe from International Laws . You can’t help but wonder how much Polanski identified with this as he has the same concern..At this point the Ghost becomes intrigued and sets out to find answers to what has become a baffling mystery.

As an aside, and believe it or not, but Kim Cantrall of “Sex and the City” and her many other steamy roles remains fully clothed throughout the movie..not even a quick cleavage shot ..this was remarkable and, for me somewhat disappointing. However, such puritanism did not apply to Ewan McGregor…or at least not altogether. He has a partially nude scene..no frontal..only from the back complete with a bun-shot..BUT in a rather mundane, ho-hum, sex scene. It was more like they were casually shaking limp hands than having sex.

A good film but not my cup of tea… I prefer something more robust.

Clark