A Movie Nearly Every Night: The Ghost Writer

The Ghost Writer (2010)
Dir. Roman Polanski
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Kim Cattrall
(images courtesy of imdb.com and RP Films)

"It's all in the beginning."

Check it out! We went to a real movie show yesterday and saw a real movie. That makes 3 in the past 5 months. This is very exciting. But, yes, I did have to ask the kids behind us to stop talking. The theater experience, friends ... this is why everything is going to 3-D because otherwise it's a pain in the ass to sit there with idiots who text and talk through the whole damn thing. More and more we're waiting for the Bluray to come out before we see anything.

But, sitting in the not-so-various doctor's offices last week the cousin/roommate and I read reviews on this movie from Time, The New Yorker and Entertainment Weekly. I'd also read the New York Times review and based on all of these we decided to get out of the living room and go see it last night at the show. It sounded interesting and worth the irritating surroundings, but we came out somewhat mixed on our reactions.

The cousin/roommate was a little disappointed. I liked it a lot. The woman behind us as we left kept repeating the word "boring" over and over again, which kind of pissed me off. Like a movie has to have Jason Bourne blowing up aliens to be exciting anymore. But, that said, yes, okay, I'll agree that there is a slow center section. Fine. It didn't pace well for about 20 minutes, but otherwise I was hooked, I don't care about anyone else.


The cousin and I both agree that what goes on visually is much more intense than the "did-he-or-didn't-he" spy/detective/crime plot. The sets are troubling and deep, and there's so much to look at, from the reinforced concrete walls to the black leather seating. My God! The art on the walls deserved its own acting credit. The big picture window shown above (and others like it) are used throughout the movie to say more than the dialogue, and there's one interior with the best mix of floor tiles I've ever seen, and when a woman crosses them in a conflicting print skirt, it was such an exciting overload of pattern that it almost made me faint. I wish I had a picture, but I don't, so go see it yourself or wait and rent the Bluray.

The actors are all very good (yes, David Denby, even Kim Cattrall) not for what they say, but how they look while saying it. Ewan McGregor has done a lot of stinky movies over the past decade (hello, Star Wars?), so it's good to see he can still act. His face does all these subtle changes depending on what he's doing or who's listening to him -- sometimes bland, sometimes animated, sometimes cheeky, sometimes it's like a light turned on inside he's so bright -- and it gives his no-name character uh ... character. It's like you get to know someone who doesn't really exist. I think that's pretty cool.


So, yes, I like Roman Polanski. Sure, he's made some bad mistakes over the years (personally and professionally), but who hasn't? Still, he can deliver the art, so cheers to that.