The Ghost

And back to films again, although this time there is still a political element. The Ghost stars Ewan McGregor as a ghost writer hired to re-draft the memoirs of former British PM, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan as a thinly veiled Tony Blair) just as it is announced that he's about to be investigated for war crimes. If we ignore the irony of a film directed by Roman Polanski about a character afraid to return to his own country for fear of prosecution, The Ghost is a solid but unspectacular film. I suspect the plot might work slightly better in the states, where they are more able to conceive of their politicians being involved in espionage and secret meetings at night. I think the British tend to see their elected leaders as sources of ridicule as much as suspicion.

It works to keep you entertained, and is best viewed that way as the conspiracy it offers is too far-fetched to have any bearing on real events. The pace is a bit slow at times and then has a sudden turn of events just when things are heating up. Initially this will feel like a cop out of an ending, but there's a final twist that makes it worth while. Some of the crucial pieces of evidence are clearly very badly photoshopped. However, the film's major weakness is McGregor who aims at wide-eyed innocence turning to growing suspicion and misses by a mile, offering a performance that fails to convince. On the other hand Brosnan continues his impressive transition from action man to character actor, but the standout is definitely Olivia Williams in the Cherie Blair role.

Summary - 6.5/10 A solidly entertaining thriller, but the premise promised a bit more than the film delivers.