THE GHOST WRITER: Blu-Ray (Universal/E1 2010) E1 Home Video

Just when I had given up all hope of ever seeing an adult-crafted, story-driven drama with superb cinematography and compelling characters, along comes Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer (2010); a moodily lit, expertly played and devilishly clever and stylish example of classic cinema storytelling at its best. I suppose I ought not be surprised, Polanski irrefutably to be considered one of the last ‘master and commanders’ of his chosen medium. You know, there was a time when what Polanski offers up in The Ghost Writer would be considered ‘nothing new’ or even startling. That time, however, has long since passed and in his wake, the Hollywood of today has miserably faltered, producing much too much disposable, forgettable tripe in lieu of taking dead aim for a much higher and enduring legacy in the years yet to come. The Ghost Writer is fleshed out by superb performances, easily making it Polanski’s best thriller since Chinatown (1974). The Ghost Writer is based on Robert Harris' gripping novel. Initially, Polanski and Harris teamed up for a historical collaboration on the history of Pompeii - a project never to materialize. Instead, Harris showed Polanski the galleys for his latest endeavor, 'The Ghost'; a Raymond Chandler-esque noir, whose protagonist is the proverbial Hitchcock wrong man, but whose pivotal character is a thinly veiled knock off of former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Polanski, a stickler for adhering to original source material, immediately embraced the project, securing Harris' participation on an adaptation that only sustained mild rewrites in translation from book to screen. All the elements of a classic noir are present in The Ghost Writer; a stark, mostly ominous 'page turner' set against the gray windswept backdrop of Martha's Vineyard out of season. There is our sullied hero, out of his depth and element, destined to trip over a terrible revelation – and murder – by accident. There is a truly murderous femme fatale, as lethal as any yet to arrive on the scene. And of course, there is a crime to solve – actually, two. But more about this later. The story begins in earnest with Ewan McGregor as an unnamed ghost writer, encouraged by his agent, Rick Ricardelli (Jon Bernthal) to assume the task of completing former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnon) political memoir. It seems Lang's long-time collaborator, Mike McCarra has died under mysterious circumstances - his body washing up on the stormy shores of Martha's Vineyard. Reluctantly, McGregor agrees to complete the manuscript for Lang. However, what he quickly unearths is Lang's private world, begun to unravel into a very messy public spectacle.

Lang is accused by a former Cabinet Minister of having been complicit in the illegal seizure of terrorist suspects who were later tortured by the CIA - a war crime. At least one of those suspects has since died and, as a result, the International Court is preparing to prosecute Lang upon his return to England. Arriving at Lang's - a clinically moderne retreat architecturally apart from the rest of the quaintly decorative Cape Cods dotting the wind-swept beaches - symbolic of the 'trap' Lang currently finds himself - the new ghost is introduced to the former PM’s entourage. Lang's wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams) is quietly embittered, ruthlessly impatient and subversively devious. There is also Lang's mistress to consider – his slinky press secretary, Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall in a great part), whose outward austerity hides a genuine heart of gold. Also close at hand are Lang's pug-nosed bodyguard, Roy (Tim Preece) and his attorney, Sidney Kroll (Timothy Hutton) who advises Lang to remain in the U.S. until these charges against him are dropped or otherwise resolved in his favor.

The ghost and Lang get off to a rocky start; the former, becoming increasingly convinced Lang is holding back a deep, dark secret. The weighty manuscript already begun by McCarra is a clunker of pure fiction that the new ghost decides to rewrite anew under Amelia's watchful eye. In the best tradition of Alfred Hitchcock, these memoirs are the movie's MacGuffin - a hook on which the entire plot pivots, even though the immediate intrigue surrounding Lang is to be found elsewhere and mostly in his private affairs, recoiling the tension between Amelia and Ruth. At precisely the moment the ghost begins to lose interest in editing the book, he discovers photographs taped to the underside of one of the drawers in the room previously occupied by McCarra. These reveal an association between Lang and Harvard Prof. Paul Emmett (Tom Wilkinson), a fringe operative and advisor to the CIA. The ghost's appetite for truth is further whetted when he accidentally stumbles upon an 'out of the way' refuge where an old codger (played by 94-yr.-old Eli Wallach) confirms there was no way McCarra's body could have washed up that far along the coast from an accidental fall off the ferry. The recluse further informs the ghost of a nearby resident who confided in him this very fact shortly before she fell down a flight of stairs at home – her death deemed as accidental. Before slipping into a coma this neighbor further admitted she had seen two sets of flashlights roaming the beach on the night the body was discovered.

Yet, for all his keen powers of deduction, the ghost makes his share of mistakes while delving into the heart of this mystery. After borrowing McCarra's vehicle to journey to Boston, the GPS navigation charts a prearranged course to Prof. Emmett's home. Where prudence might have suggested a hasty getaway to reconsider the link between Emmett and Lang, the ghost instead confronts Emmett with his knowledge he and Lang were college mates. The meeting ends in confrontation and a not so subtle threat, whereupon the ghost is followed by two men in a black sedan who almost succeed at tossing him off the port ferry. After a narrow escape, the ghost contacts Secretary of State Richard Rycart (Robert Pugh), using the phone number he discovered on the backside of one of the photographs. Rycart informs the ghost he is working for the 'right side' now. However, after reuniting with Lang aboard his private jet, the ghost begins to have even more doubts about whose side he is on. At every turn, where silence would benefit his investigation more, the ghost proceeds to reveal all he knows to people - including Lang - who could possibly do him grave harm - not exactly the approach of a seasoned journalist, yet made palpably convincing by Ewan McGregor's superb rendering of the ingénue.

Exiting the plane at Martha's Vineyard, Lang is publicly assassinated, presumably by the embittered father of a military operative who was killed in Afghanistan who, in turn, is shot by one of Lang's bodyguards. In the aftermath of Lang's thought-numbing funeral, the ghost finishes Lang's memoirs - arriving at his publisher's book signing party on Amelia's arm. Inadvertently, Amelia provides the ghost with the final clue he has been searching for to solve the burning mystery surrounding both McCarra and Lang's deaths. Amelia informs him the original manuscript's 'beginnings' were briefly considered a threat to national security. The ghost, having brought the manuscript to the party as a parting gift for Amelia, now pulls out a pen, circling the first word of the first sentence in every paragraph from the novel's introduction; the sentence it forms revealing that Ruth was actually a CIA spy working underneath Lang's nose. It is she who is responsible for McCarra and her husband's death - a suspicion confirmed for the ghost after he slips Ruth a note with the words from the manuscript scribbled down. The ghost sneaks out of the party. However, as he crosses the street to hail a taxi, he is run down by the same black car to have tailed him from Prof. Emmett's home.

The Ghost Writer represents Roman Polanski at his sinister best, evoking a unnerving netherworld of political intrigues that, at an initial glance, seem to wallow for the first half-hour or so, establishing characters, places and the overall pervading sense of dread we will come to know and understand with nail-biting proficiency later on. In Polanski we find a storyteller so self-assured, so utterly connected to his art he can sustain the narrative tension of the piece without so much as resorting to a single ‘clever’ camera maneuver to convey fear, suspense and, best of all, depth of quality in each character’s design.  No popularized MTV Ginsu-styled chop shop editing for Polanski, which is richly rewarding and endlessly watchable. Ewan McGregor brings a curious, smoldering depth of ego and comedic edge to his role. Pierce Brosnan is wry, if slightly over the top. The standout performances belong to Ruth Williams and Tom Wilkinson - both menacing and more than heartily evasive and cruel. The revelation here is Kim Cattrall, losing her Brit-accent midway through the film and slinking about every scene like a feral cat in heat. In practically every sense, The Ghost Writer is one hell of a good show – Polanski’s jigsaw puzzle, in which not all the pieces are expected to fit, but so many do, as to create a purely unsettling, slick and seductive and genuine thriller with real/reel guts.

E1 Films Blu-Ray release exhibits a sumptuous 1080p hi-def transfer that perfectly captures all the stark, abysmal spookiness of Martha's Vineyard out of season. Owing to Polanski, who continues to face prosecution on a long-standing charge of rape if ever he deigns to return to the United States, The Ghost Writer is an intriguing blend of live action and rear projection, skillfully/seamlessly, to recreate Martha's Vineyard abroad. The Blu-Ray transfer extols all the virtues and none of the vices of computer-composited digital matte work. We get a subtly nuanced image with intense fine details throughout - a crisp and clean rendering that looks absolutely fabulous. Even during the darkest scenes, the image exhibits an incredible amount of information. The stylized color palette contains rich ‘drab’ hues used sparingly to create a genuine sense of absolute isolation. The audio is 5.1 DTS, precisely balanced and delivering a sustained, if quiet, sonic rendering that is supportive to the story. Extras are the most disappointing. We get three all-too-brief featurettes, with cast and crew briefly waxing about their involvement on the project. Polanski offers only the most superficial insights into the process by which he has created another homage to his particular brand of movie magic. Bottom line: The Ghost Writer is great, and, comes very highly recommended. Good stuff here!

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

4

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

2