Taglines: Read between the lies.
When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start—not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.
The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA—a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth, and his personal assistant (and mistress), Amelia.
As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA—and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?
Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level— sexual, political and literary. In a world in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems, The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly—and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it.
The Ghost Writer (released as The Ghost in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is a 2010 Franco-German-British political thriller film directed by Roman Polanski. The film is an adaptation of a Robert Harris novel, The Ghost, with the screenplay written by Polanski and Harris. It stars Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall and Olivia Williams.
The Ghost Writer (2010)
Directed by: Roman Polanski
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Olivia Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach, Jon Bernthal, Kate Copeland, Tim Faraday, Cecilia Pillado, Mimüor Wemzn
Screenplay by: Roman Polanski, Robert Harris
Production Design by: Albrecht Konrad
Cinematography by: Pawel Edelman
Film Editing by: Hervé de Luze
Costume Design by: Dinah Collin
Set Decoration by: Bernhard Henrich, Ulli Isfort
Art Direction by: Cornelia Ott, David Scheunemann, Steve Summersgill
Music by: Alexandre Desplat
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, brief nudity/sexuality, some violence and a drug reference.
Distributed by: Summit Entertainment
Release Date: February 19, 2010
