THE GHOST WRITER

Drama

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Ewan McGregor: a nameless published writer
Jon Bernthal: his agent Rick Ricardelli
Jim Belushi: John Maddox, CEO of a publishing company
Pierce Brosnan: former British Prime Minister Adam Lang
Kim Cattrail: Lang’s personal assistant Amelia Bly
Olivia Williams: Lang’s wife Ruth
Tom Wilkinson: Harvard Law Professor Paul Emmett
Rober Pugh: former British Foreign Secretary Richard Rycart

REVIEW
Promoted as a political thriller it is anything but. In today’s age of corporate and political malfeasance, finding out that a former politician was less than honest about his past is a non-event, a ho-hum revelation prompting a “so what?” reaction to the news. I liked the pacing but frankly with a running time of two hours plus it goes on too long.

It’s a shame such a weak plot undermines the fine performances, notably that of Bronson giving his best effort ever.

CLASSIFICATION
some language and implied behavior.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• The car on the ferry with the missing driver when first seen is properly parked between the lane markers but when the tow truck approaches somehow it has slid sideways and is now half way into the adjacent lane.
• This is one of my classic all-time favourite nitpicks: at the end of a telephone conversation the ghostwriter hangs up and is left listening to the dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone. And they do it twice!
• When leaving Professor Emmett’s residence the wall clock shows it to be 2:50 yet when the ghostwriter steps into his car only a few feet away the dashboard clock shows it to be 3:48.
• The Massachusetts ferryboat ticket agent asks the ghostwriter for his choice of ticket type, "through or return". This is the British version of the United States ticket choice, "one-way or round-trip."
• The house is located on a island in the Atlantic Ocean so the shoreline should change as the tide comes and goes but the view out the window never changes.