The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer, 2010
Dir: Roman Polanski

Oh, wow, welcome back to the present, dork. Found some time to get out to the theaters? Yup, it felt good to watch the big screen. And after 4 years of being out of commission, Big Roman is back, baby! What controversy? Roman doesn't give a anal fizzzuck! Alright now, butt raping joking asides, let's talk about the The Ghost Writer. It's a testament to Polanski's abilities as a director that he could make mediocre actors Kim Cattrall and Jim Belushi so watchable. Though they both suck. Especially Cattrall. Have you ever watched someone act when they're trying to use/lose an accent and they just keep slipping in and out of it? That's what watching Catrall is. There are many echoes here of Polanski's previous work; The Tenant (1976) comes to mind first (this, of course, is not nearly as weird though). At times, there is almost this sense of cinematic exaggeration that Werner Herzog is doing now as well. I doubt it is for the same reason, though. And all the characters, even protagonist Ewan MacGregor, are not really that interesting. They're just one dimensional cartoons. Just look at Pierce Brosnan as the ex-Prime Minister, who is actually cast to a T for this. There was also no way the ending was ever going to live up to what was building, and of course, it didn't, although I really did enjoy the last shot. So mainly, it's just fun to watch him spin out a conspiracy story that all can relate to (oh rampant American imperialism, you're just such an east target!) that also has his trademark humor in it. Is it profound? Not really, but as a thriller you could do far worse.

3.5/5