The Ghost Writer (2010)

Directed by: Roman Polanski | 128 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson, Olivia Williams, Jon Bernthal, James Belushi, Tim Preece, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach, Tim Faraday, Marianne Graffam, Kate Copeland, Soogi Kang, Lee Hong Thay, Morgane Polanski , Daphne Alexander, Robert Pugh, Desiree Erasmus, Jeff Burrell

The year 2009 was not the happiest in the life of Roman Polanski. The director was arrested in November by Swiss police and threatened to be extradited to US authorities. They wanted to try him for a sex offense from the 1970s. Annoying for Polanski, but it resulted in a lot of publicity for his almost completed film ‘The Ghost Writer’. The question is whether that film is worth all that attention.

Not really. ‘The Ghost Writer’ is a political thriller like they haven’t been made in a while. The story revolves around a professional writer who has to scribble together the political memoirs of a former prime minister. Of course, things then surface that cannot bear the light of day.

Although the story is set in the here and now, the plot and atmosphere of the film is reminiscent of Cold War thrillers. The cases that ‘The Ghost Writer’ deals with are just not as startling as they were thirty years ago. Hidden links between governments, multinationals and secret services are a piece of cake for a 21st century viewer. As a result, the thriller lacks dramatic impact, also because we hardly get to see the consequences and the victims of those government manipulations.

What also doesn’t help is that ‘The Ghost Writer’ never surprises in its elaboration. A viewer who is a little familiar with the genre will often be a few steps ahead of the main character’s thoughts and actions. The succession of thriller clichés doesn’t help either. But what really kills this film is the slightly ironic undertone. A thriller can still tolerate incidental humor, by way of contrast. But the putative sauce that has been poured over ‘The Ghost Writer’ makes thrilling almost impossible.

The lack of suspense, the predictability of the plot and the uninteresting subject make ‘The Ghost Writer’ a far too long sit. In any case, you can argue that the film is expertly made. That’s right. But skillfully crafted boredom is still boredom.