The Ghost Writer (2010) ****

Ghost writers are almost like the CIA of the publishing industry. They are sent in to do the covert job of making a person interesting enough to sell books. Sure, you can sit down and set some words to paper but what sells and what doesn't? What stuff stays and what stuff needs flushed down the toilet? Richard Nixon had a team of ghost writers helping him sort is career into 800 pages of memoirs. I'm sure somewhere in Texas George W. Bush has the same kind of team combing through every scrap of paper that's been in his hands for the last twenty years or more. Of course their names won't be on the cover when the books is sitting at Wal Mart next to some vampire burlesque novel.

In The Ghost Writer Ewan MacGregor plays a ghost writer. His job is to replace the ghost of former Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). This is a last minute replacement as the original writer's body washed up on the beach close to the compound where Lang is secluded in putting together his story.  Lang is still a central character in political life as he is being investigated for war crimes by the Hague and in all of this confusion The Ghost begins to find information pointed toward Lang's involvement with foreign governments and the possibility that the original ghost was murdered for digging into such graveyards.

The Ghost Writer is essentially built on the career of Tony Blair and his involvement in the war on terror. That is a central fact and shouts at you during the film. This is the situation that The Ghost find himself in, leading to a very contemporary piece. The Ghost is simply listed as The Ghost in the credits, leading to that Mr. Incognito persona of what his job is- basically a cleaner for a dull and pretentious writer. The film is one of those layered films, which is what all good political thrillers need to be. Each piece should lead to the next piece, like the short bread in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Eventually each piece will take you to grandmother's house or the home of a witch with intent to cook your behind. The apprehension that our title character feels grows within the audience as well. He's on a path to burn, we all know that. It's just seeing how quick the tables will turn and whether or not he can kick that old bitch in the fire that keeps us tuned in.

MacGregor and Brosnan have a nice presence together on screen with a give and take attitude that keeps the story flowing. Of course the thing about The Ghost Writer is its supporting cast with Olivia Williams as Lang's wife, Kim Cattrall as Lang's assistant, Tom Wilkinson as the professor of immense interest, Jim Belushi as the publishing guru, and the legendary Eli Wallach as an island resident filling The Ghost in on the tides. What Brosnan and MacGregor have is grounded in these supporting roles.

Directed by Roman Polanski (who edited it in jail), this isn't Chinatown, but it is a taut political thriller that will keep you guessing up until the last few pages of the script. It's not really a look into the heart of evil, but more like a glimpse into the underbelly of a lot of things: writing, politics, marriage, etc. It's a very good film that isn't as complicated as it could have been, yet isn't dumbed down for our benefit either.