The Ghost Writer

Plot: A nameless bestselling ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is hired to write the memoirs of former British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) after the previous ghost writer dies mysteriously. Sequestered on a Cape Cod compound with the ex-head of state and his entourage, the ghost soon finds out his own life might be in danger and that there is more to the whole story than just a simple memoir, when Lang is suddenly accused of crimes against humanity by the international court in The Hague.

Review: What may well be Roman Polanski’s last movie – depending on the wheels of justice or his ability to direct another full feature film under house arrest from his chalet in Gstaad – is certainly one of his best. Adapted from the bestseller by Robert Harris, Polanski leaves in all the thrills, adding much of his own brand of humor, some nice thrills of his own, and pokes a bit of fun at himself along the way (the former prime minister finds he has few countries to chose from that won’t extradite him to the Netherlands, but the one that does come to his rescue is the United States…).

The cast all give good performances, especially Ewan McGregor as the nameless ghost (the man did have a name in the book, but not giving a ghost writer a name is an inspired move on Polanski’s part), a scruffy cynic who’s quick with a comeback: “You look terrible,” he’s told. “I’m aging,” he quips. Also fun to watch are Brosnan as the slippery (is there any other kind?) politician, Kim Cattrall as his assistant (more sedate and thoughtful than Samantha from “Sex and the City” but obviously still hired for her ability to make sex an issue when she’s in the picture), Tom Wilkinson as a snotty professor, and Olivia Williams as Lang’s wife – for reasons that would spoil the plot, so never mind, you’ll see.