The Ghost Writer, shot by Roman Polanski in 2009, went down in the history of the global film industry as a project created by a prisoner. The visionary was arrested in the first autumn month of 2009 at the opening ceremony of the Zurich Film Festival. In this regard, the film "Ghost" Polanski ended up while in a Swiss prison.
Luxurious neo noir
The film “Ghost” by Roman Polanski is a classic example of a political thriller that continues both the well-known cinematic tradition associated, for example, with Sydney Pollack's projects, and the literary one - in this case, an analogy with the works of John Grisham and Graham Green is appropriate . Having imprisoned him, the 76-year-old visionary answered with one of his best copyright projects. By the way, at the Berlin festival the film was awarded the Silver Bear, but the director personally could not get it, as he was already under house arrest. "Literary Negro", "Spirit of the Writer", succinctly renamed by domestic distributors into "Ghost", has an IMDb rating of 7.20.
Plot. Tie
Thriller "Ghost" by Roman Polanski introduces the main character - a talented writer performed by Ewan McGregor. A young, promising, but poor writer suddenly receives a very favorable offer, the essence of which is to edit the memoirs of ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain Adam Lang (actor Pierce Brosnan). Having agreed to act as a “literary Negro,” the main character comes to a customer who lives on the island of Martas-Vinyard in a mansion isolated from the outside world and strictly guarded. The writer meets ex-prime minister's wife Ruth Lang (actress Olivia Williams), who makes a much more pleasant impression than her frankly short-sighted, but very conceited husband.
Intrigue
The gall wife compares herself to Napoleon’s beloved, imprisoned on St. Helena, she is aware of her husband’s tumultuous romance with referent Amelia Bligh (Kim Cattrall). The deceived woman, not embarrassed, discusses this fact with a memoirist, and close relations are struck between them. At this time, Lang becomes embroiled in an international scandal over US-UK relations. The ex-prime minister is accused of having abducted British citizens suspected of terrorism and extradited him to the state where they were subjected to real torture with his tacit consent. Now Lang can not return to his homeland, he receives the status of an exile, almost like the director Roman Polanski himself.
Palpable suspense
Further in the story of The Phantom, Polanski begins to "thicken his colors." Even before the scandal erupted, the protagonist begins to suspect that his mission could be life-threatening. Firstly, leaving the island completely cut off from the outside world, if desired, is unrealistic. Secondly, the fact that his predecessor, who edited Lang’s memoirs, who became a close friend and assistant to the former prime minister, tragically died under mysterious circumstances, cannot but alarm. The writer comes to understand that the CIA is behind a series of dubious events, but he does not know which of the inhabitants of the island is their agent, therefore he suspects absolutely everyone. The feeling of the inevitability of the impending nightmare is exacerbated by the dullness of the gloomy atmosphere of winter slush, and the level of suspense in Polanski's Ghost sometimes reaches a reference Hitchcock degree.
The Irony of Fate
It is a well-known fact that the individual projects of Polanski are surprisingly autobiographical. Ironically, this political thriller became another confirmation of the trend, although the director had the idea of ​​creating it long before the scandal with the US authorities. However, it turned out that the real scandalous situation of Polanski and America echoes the plot narrative of the film. Writer Robert Harris, author of a literary source and former BBC reporter who created The Phantom, Polanski painted the image of Lang with Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was once accused of US aiding during the reign of George W. Bush. Nevertheless, the visionary is only interested in the real political background, since the political absurdity, in which there is no justice and the innocent suffer, is a great demonstration of the general absurdity of the world.
Reflection of the entire spectrum of falsehood
The "Ghost" of Polanski is considered one of the most successful modern thrillers, since the author in the film adaptation managed to convey the emotional tension of the situation better than the literary original. The gloominess of the narrative fully conveys the whole spectrum of falsehood at all levels of power and the unjust helplessness of the “little man” trying to get to the bottom of the truth, make it public and naively believe that he will survive. Although it is very difficult to understand the final position of the protagonist, there is no doubt one thing - the character evokes sympathy, being the only pretty person in this confusing, but by and large sad story.
Traditional Visionary Tricks
Thriller intentionally shot in a stylish, albeit old-fashioned manner. The tension is pumped up by gusts of wind, a cold color scheme, ambiguous winks of heroes and an incredulous expression on the face of an old man who has seen the species and has lived on the ocean for almost half a century. The director uses his traditional authoring techniques almost on autopilot, carving out the life of the character-politician, his women, accomplices and bodyguards, the Hitchcock spark.
Thus, in an almost realistic story, a mystical raid is manifested, and the drawn out plot comes out at times more interesting than the hasty climax and ending. The film "Ghost" by Roman Polanski received mixed reviews. Some reviewers have indicated that the author's technique is too old-fashioned. The plot was also criticized, which was called superficial and not containing revelations. The commercial success of the picture can also not be called amazing, however, this is not surprising for the tape with a pronounced anti-American message. Thriller was clearly unable to attract a conservative part of the American audience.