The Ghost Writer (Roman Polanski, 2010) ***

Dir. Roman Polanski
Starring Ewan McGregor, Olivia Williams, Kim Cattral, Tom Wilkinson, Eli Wallach

The Ghost Writer arrives with plenty of attention due to the arrest of director Roman Polanski and the subsequent debate over his personal actions thirty-three years earlier. However, the nature of the film runs counter to this kind of exposure. It is actually a calm, precise thriller that takes time to build an intricate plot with strongly realized characters. It demands patience for the audience, but offers a mostly rewarding experience for those who give it a chance.

The Ghost (McGregor) is an author hired to take over ghostwriting duties for former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) autobiography. His predecessor died after completing most of the book, and now the publisher's $10 million advance is in jeopardy. The Ghost joins Lang at his beach house just as news heats up about the International Criminal Court investigating Lang about actions he took as Prime Minister.

One of the pleasures of this film is watching how Polanski expertly sets up one situation after another. You get little hints here and there that something isn't right, but he never hits you over the head with it. He slowly develops the story, but maintains enough intrigue to make sure it is never boring. Thankfully, he never has to resort to the tired devices found in most thrillers like surprise loud noises on the soundtrack or people popping up out of nowhere.

Instead, Polanski populates the film with atmospheric sequences like the one where Eli Wallach pops up as a mysterious old man who has some theories about the previous writer’s death. Another nice scene is when the reliable Tom Wilkinson shows up as a college professor who clearly has something to hide and their quickly escalating conversation contains a great deal of tension. Even the extended chase sequence is actually shot in a low key manner. It’s more about whether or not our hero can outwit his adversaries than who is faster or has the better weapon.

It’s not a perfect film. The major problem is that the political parallels are overly direct. Lang is an obvious stand-in for Tony Blair. He has ties to a company that is clearly meant to be Halliburton. When Lang visits the White House visits to seek support, there is news footage of him meeting with the Secretary of State who is a Condoleeza Rice clone. The scene is so awkwardly shot and played that it felt like it had been ripped from Oliver Stone’s W. If the film had a political question to explore, then some of this would be fine, but that’s clearly not the agenda because Polanski lets Adam Lang’s sanctimonious speech about airport safety stand without questioning the obvious holes in it.

Despite those flaws, this remains a solid thriller that is a step above lazy mainstream Hollywood filmmaking. It features strong performances (aside from the miscast Kim Cattral), an interesting narrative, and a clever ending where Polanski brilliantly creates more suspense by keeping the camera still. Whatever questions there may be about Polanski’s personal life, there can be no doubt that he is a filmmaker of consummate skill.