The Ghost Writer (Polanski, 2010)

[madali]

In my defense, I didn't know "The Ghost Writer" was supposed to be a great movie.

In your defense, I gave Citizen Kane 2/5 9 years ago

[fizz]

In my defense, I didn't know "The Ghost Writer" was supposed to be a great movie.

You don't necessarily have to know it's a good or bad film. You discover that by watching it. Of course, being aware that it was generally well received last year (it's only the best or second best film of that year) might help, but the fact that it's by Polanski is a sure giveaway. Anyway, you've had your say. Perhaps this is a phase you're going through and you'll see it again in a few years and fall off your chair exclaiming "Holy Shit, this is brilliant stuff".

[madali]

Since I love movie discussions, I'll say something else.

You mention:

And as always you pick a minor, obscure plot reference and drive your entire review around it.

To me, it is not minor. The movie has to create a believable world for me. Each movie has different standards. If it was an action movie, it would be less important. If it was teenage comedy, the same. But I considered this a political thriller, serious. And tension in thriller exists once  you believe the world that the film creates for you. Maybe I'm more political minded than the rest of you, but to me, the world doesn't make sense. When the world doesn't make sense, the characters motivations and actions become irrational to me. (The rest will be SPOILERS, so please take care all.) The conclusion doesn't make sense to me. To have the CIA Agent get married to a young actor to influence him to become Prime Minister doens't make sense, because it needs a magical foresight from the CIA. And a pointless act anyway, since UK is a strong ally of USA, have we ever seen a significient policy difference between them since WW2? And if that was so, so what if they found out the wife used to be a CIA Agent? Nothing really significient would occur.

And so on and so on. What tensions should I feel if I am taken in by the film's reality? You can say it is not important, and in some movies, it is not.

[X.]

The thing most people miss about THE GHOST WRITER is that it is a comedy. Seriously!

Great film.

[fizz]

Comedy maybe, but satirical certainly. It's not a political thriller. Those usually star Harrison Ford and are based on Tom Clancy novels. I think you're getting your genre's mixed up...

[ayaa1977]

I watched it a while ago, and I thought it was a very enjoyable film. What I liked the most was the mode. I am not a Polanski aficionado, but there is something about his films that sucks you in, and they always looks bleak and paranoid in a good way. I remember enjoying The Pianist and it's a fucking holocaust film more than Schindler's List which struck me more as a history lesson. Even his forgotten films like The Ninth Gate and Oliver Twist are memorable in their own way.

 I see what Mad is talking about, but he is wrong. Within that world of the film, that plot detail didn’t even struck me as a stretch because we bought into its setup. Beside, everything is possible in this mad world we live in, or at least almost everything. Who thought that The Arab Spring would ever go as far as we see now? Not me, certainly, nor anyone I know. Who though that Robert Murdoch the one who frightened every British PM would be in as deep shit as he is now?  Beside politicians out of power always face the ramifications of their actions and behavior, may be not as severe as the film shows, but they do never the less. Nixon Was forced out of office and was to go to jail if it was not for the immunity that his successor granted him. As for the wife’s angle, that what make a paranoia film successful, a crazy thought that turned up to be true, and what is more brilliant than the long con of turning a regular young man to a puppet prime minister, taking the strong alliance between the two countries to an even creepier end. It was not Pierce Brosnan film anyway, it was a match between Ewan McGregor and the brilliant Olivia Newton, and it was a case of curiosity that killed the cat, that was great to watch unraveled. It was an excellent film and I give it 4/5.

[X.]

At exactly 1:13...

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