Sunday, March 21, 2010

Spooked (The Ghost Writer)


(Spoilers within.)

In a movie year that promises more 3-D, more CGI, more kick-you-in-the-gonads action, the most thrilling scene may end up being an unbroken tracking shot of a note passed from hand to hand across a banquet hall. That moment comes in the closing minutes of The Ghost Writer, Roman Polanski's latest (and possibly last) film, as confident and pleasing a foray into genre as he's ever done.

This time it's the political thriller that Polanski is inhabiting, reviving, subtly subverting. Based on the novel by Mark Harris (who co-wrote the screenplay with the director), The Ghost Writer stars Ewan McGregor as the unnamed title character, an anonymous author behind several quick-'n'-dirty hack-jobs hired to finish the memoirs of former British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). Although out of office, Lang still faces pressures on both political and personal fronts: the ICC wants to prosecute him for war crimes in Iraq; and his previous covert biographer has just turned up dead along the coast of Martha's Vineyard. "The Ghost" -- as McGregor's character is called in the credits -- has more than a few qualms about his task, especially after getting mugged when leaving his publisher's office. But the money is too good to pass up, as is a subsequent romantic entanglement with Lang's estranged wife (Olivia Williams).

The Ghost Writer comes a few inches shy of ranking with Polanski's greatest films. Truth be told I haven't liked McGregor since Trainspotting, but he's effortlessly charming and focused here as a decent Everyman who stumbles on the truth and struggles to stay alive. As Ruth Lang, the power behind the ex-P.M., Williams has her best role since Rushmore, one that reveals more layers as the narrative goes along. McGregor and Williams are so game that I think the movie could have gone further in making their relationship more dark and twisted than it is. There's a misguided PG-13 restraint to the film that I suspect comes from the studio rather than the director (as evinced by a handful of distractingly dubbed F-bombs). I also could have lived without a phone number beginning with "555." That number is crucial to the plot, and repeated several times, so pay for a real one, for Pete's sake.

At times the classical elements of The Ghost Writer verge on being quaint: "I suggest, dear reader, that you gaze upon it," wrote David Denby, "because it's all but gone in today's moviemaking world." So too are Polanski's filmmaking gifts and perversities of casting, which keep the movie from looking like a relic. Good luck finding a better-looking movie this year -- the cinematography (by Pawell Edelman) is enveloping and richly textured, the production design (particularly of the postmodern beachhouse where the Langs and the Ghost live and work) wittily reveals the protagonist's emotional state. Alexandre Desplat's musical score marvelously entwines playfulness with suspense, as does Brosnan's performance. The man who was Bond may have been a no-brainer as Lang, and he's a strong, elusive presence. But surprise cameos from the likes of 94-year-old Eli Wallach (enjoyably hammy as always) and a bald James Belushi (bearing a bizarre resemblance to Rod Steiger) add some zip to the proceedings. 

In many ways The Ghost Writer is haunted by recurring obsessions and tossed-off motifs from Polanski's entire filmography: political pessimism (Chinatown); the essentiality of books and writing (The Ninth Gate); the cultivation of identity through art (The Pianist); the dangers of jet-lag (Frantic); the power and deceit of women (pick 'em). Following the flurry of excitement over the 17th best movie Martin Scorsese has ever madeThe Ghost Writer comes as a reminder of how pulp can be given theme and shape in the hands of a great filmmaker. While the movie treats current events seriously (and dares to take sides) Polanski doesn't belabor any points or betray any preachiness. His tone throughout is light and mischievous, with flashes of mordant wit. (One zinger, where one character assures McGregor of his safety, got a huge laugh.) This is the atmosphere in his finest genre pictures, whether horror flick or historical biopic or crime noir. In Shutter Island, Scorsese weighs down schlock with gravitas. In The Ghost Writer, Polanski finds the humor in heavy weather without diluting its power.

10 comments:

Jake said...

I don't know that I can agree with you that this contained Williams' best performance since Rushmore, superb though it was. Did you watch any of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse? She took that passionate frigidity she somehow pulls off to its apex on that show, and I fell off the wagon before the show supposedly built to a creative peak worthy of its creator sometime in the second (and last) season.

I completely agree about the cinematography, though. I know you didn't have nearly the reaction to Shutter Island that I did, but you have to admit that the movie looked great, and I was surprised at how easily I could place the more muted textures of Edelman's imagery at the same level of the Powellian reds and swirling colors of Robert Richardson's work for Marty.

I also agree with you on Desplat's score, which managed to be both highly unorthodox and, at times, reminiscent of the king of suspense scores, Bernard Herrmann. As for Wallach's cameo, I laughed in his hammy scene because he was so irascible and snarling that I joked that they spared no expense dressing up Jackie Earle Haley in makeup just for a cameo.

Ronak M Soni said...

Just one question:
"So too are Polanski's filmmaking gifts and perversities of casting, which keep the movie from looking like a relic."
Could you explain this? I just can
t get my head around it.

Craig said...

Yeah, that line rather awkwardly goes with the sentence that precedes it. I meant that Polanski's style and humor keep the movie from feeling too old-fashioned -- that just when it runs the risk of losing interest, a witty image or line of dialogue or Eli Wallach pops up to recapture your interest.

Craig said...

Jake, I did catch an episode or two of Dollhouse, mainly to see Williams. You're right, she was very good in that too. To paraphrase David Denby, she somehow fulfills the cliche: "You're beautiful when you're angry."

Shutter Island does look great. Richardson perfected the overheated look back with Oliver Stone and he's taken it to an even higher level now.

Eli Wallach is like Burgess Meredith without the restraint (a joke). Desplat is like a non-annoying Philip Glass.

Jason Bellamy said...

The last line of your review sums it up nicely. I think. Maybe.

My problem with The Ghost Writer -- other than all those eye-rolling moments when ... "Wait, the news is on, let's pause for some plot exposition ..." -- is that I never really felt a lot of menace to this picture. I loved the note-passing scene and yet I thought it had a big fat "so what" on it, even as it was happening. I didn't really feel a sense of real doom in this picture.

A big hurdle for me was McGregor, whose biggest fault is that he often seems kind of empty, and he does here. And I wasn't crazy about Cattrall or Wilkinson either. But I did like Williams quite a bit. All of her scenes are terrific, along with any of those shots of the beach running right up to the office window. Great stuff there.

I somewhat enjoyed the light air of the movie, but I can't say I thought there was much of a balancing act, as the whole thing seemed light to me. That's my quick take.

Craig said...

Jason:

My problem with The Ghost Writer -- other than all those eye-rolling moments when ... "Wait, the news is on, let's pause for some plot exposition ..." -- is that I never really felt a lot of menace to this picture. I loved the note-passing scene and yet I thought it had a big fat "so what" on it, even as it was happening. I didn't really feel a sense of real doom in this picture.

Ha, ha. Those newscasts were definitely "old-school" (like that "555" number, which bugged me more), but they were also an economic means of conveying information. I think the significance of the sequence with the note is to soften us up for the grim punchline that follows: the Ghost leaves thinking he's won, as do we. Then...oops.

A big hurdle for me was McGregor, whose biggest fault is that he often seems kind of empty, and he does here.

Had you asked me last week for a list of my ten least-favorite actors, Ewan McGregor would have been on it. I thought he redeemed himself in a big way this time, though. He gives the character the sense that he's a bright guy but not as smart as he thinks he is, that he likes confronting people without fully grasping the consequences. The movie would've had a harder time navigating all the plot holes without his conviction.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a classically-made movie. "Hitchcockian" is a cliche, but The Ghost Writer worked for me like a good Hitchcock thriller: It has dramatic logic (like that note-passing scene), if not exactly real-life logic. I felt mildly buzzed leaving the theater, as if it had cleared the clutter out of my head.

I can't say I felt outright menace or doom either -- something kinkier between McGregor and Williams might have offered that. But I did feel dread in the atmosphere, lingering in the rain.

Adam Zanzie said...

Jason was mentioning Kim Cattrall's performance... I didn't mind it, honestly. Though most of the criticisms of her performance tend to be leveled at her English accent. Huh? Kim Cattrall was raised in England and Canada; if I understand it correctly, her accent is natural. She also had one in The Bonfire of the Vanities ("What on eaaarth are you doing, Sherman?").

Craig said...

Adam,

I thought Cattrall was right physically for the part but lacked...well, let's just say I don't think she can act. I'm with you on her "phony" accent, which is the real deal. It probably sounds phony if you've only heard her talk on Sex and the City. Took me a moment to get adjusted to it too.

Anonymous said...

Kim Catrall lived in England for only the first 3 months of her life. That was the worst English accent I have ever heard in my entire 55 years. Totally ruined every scene she was in.

Anonymous said...

(SPOILER ALERT) Wouldn't there have been an easier way to let the cat out of the bag about Ruth? It made me laugh out loud when the Big Secret was revealed.

I thought the whole film lacked suspense. There were no stakes.
Williams is the best thing in this film.