Enjoy It While It Lasts
Project 365 here 365Pieces
Apr 25th, 2010 @ 1:24 am
The Ghost
The Ghost
Directed by perv-du-jour, Roman Polanski.
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First of all, let me apologise for my tumblr hiatus. You could say I’ve been busy what with practicing for my music practical exam and entertaining my Cypriot cousin who was staying with us for a bit while he had an interview with Trinity. So on the 21st of April I went to see The Ghost with Andreas (the cousin in question). He was just sitting in the house all day so my mam was like ‘Why don’t you go to the pictures Ian?’ meaning ‘Andreas is bored out of his mind. Do something with him!’. Not that I minded going pictures. Any excuse to go the cinema is a good excuse.
Now believe me, I did not want to pay to see this movie. Reason? The director raped a 13 year old girl and then to avoid being charged he flew off to France where he wasn’t able to be charged (there’s parallels there with Pierce Brosnan’s character in the film. You see what Polanski did there?). Lots of people excuse this guy for what he did because the woman ‘publicly forgave’ him in 1997 (and some even say that because he’s made such ‘great films’ that he should be excused). I don’t care if she forgives him. He drugged her, got her drunk and raped her. At 13. That’s not alright. He got arrested last year though and was put under house arrest while they were waiting for some court order or something. So yeah, I didn’t wanna be supporting a guy who did that. But duty calls and cousins had to be entertained (hey, it was this or Dear John) and it looked good, as much as it pains me to say. Plz just don’t accuse me of condoning rape!
So The Ghost follows an un-amed ghost writer (the ‘ghost’ of the title, played actually kinda well by Ewan McGregor) who has to finish writing the memoirs of an ex-British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). His previous ghost writer died in unusal circumstances so we know that it’s not gonna be an easy ride for our ghost. The ghost writer moves to a wintry island that the Langs live on with their team of staff and it’s there that he has to complete the book. He begins to uncover secrets regarding the Prime Minister’s relationship with the US government and as he does, his life is put at risk. So…
I liked this film. But that’s all. For me, it was more of a (eww, why am i going to say this) mood piece (I know a big word.Not). Polanski was under house arrest for post-production and you can REALLY feel it in the movie. The film is shot through a kind of Twilight-esque blue filter but with more grey tones and greens (except it actually works well in The Ghost). You get the feeling that you can’t escape from under the clouds over the island, and when the ghost is on the boat it feels like he’s never leaving. All the wind and the beaches also added to the confusion that I felt about 10 minutes into the film (Seriously, why do thrillers always have to be utterly perplexing halfway through?), but they really made the film better. Whoever the cinematographer was deserves some award for it come next January. I can’t find any stills from the film to prove my point but yeah. Oh wait, here’s one
The other great thing about this film was Olivia Williams. She played Lang’s wife and she fucking owned the screen. She was like Miranda Priestly except all political. While Ewan McGregor had the job of fading into the background (he was a ghost after all!) and looking shocked/confised and Pierce Brosnan just had to look all smug, she had a real tough job. She gets the whole torn feeling spot on as well as convincing us that she’s tragic. During the course of the film you’re like “wow this woman’s good” and then at the end you’re like “WOW. She was GOOD!” … That ending actually. Yeah, it was good but like, did it all really make sense? I’m sure there’s a plot hole there somewhere (possible spoiler alert in this sentence: THERE WAS NO WAY SHE COULD HAVE CALLED SOMEONE THAT QUICK!! NO WAY! AND TO HAVE THE CAR JUST WAITING THERE FOR HIM? SHE DIDN’T KNOW HE KNEW! Ok, sorry). Hm maybe i should read the book or something (yeah, me and a book. That’s gonna happen.). Also, this is meant to be an exposition of Tony and Cherie Blair but its a tad too ridiculous to be believed. The only thing it said about Tony Blair is that the author of the book and Polanski hate him.
Another thing that was a tad confusing was the score. It was so Christmassy! The film opens to the sound of a cross between the scores from Coraline and Elf… I’m telling you! HOWEVER, this is not a bad thing at all because the music was fantastic. Possibly Oscasr nomination right there. It’s by Alexandre Desplat who composed for films like A Prophet and Fantastic Mr Fox so I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything else (great movies, the two of them). Oh yeah, one more thing. Why call it The Ghost over here, and The Ghost Writer in America? I would have expected it to be the other way around. Like dumb it down for the Americans, not us. I think it’s because of the way they’re marketing the film though. It’s been on a limited run for over 2 months in America and is doing well, so I think by calling it The Ghost Writer they’re trying to make it seem more intellectual. Where as calling it The Ghost over here (and going on a wide, general release) makes it seem alot more mainstream and is appealing to those of us who don’t know what a ghost writer is.
Overall, this film is more of a technical masterpiece than an amazing thriller. I read in most places that The Ghost doesn’t compare to ‘proper Polanski’ and his ways of creating atmosphere. But I found this to be possibly more atmospheric and chilling than something like Shutter Island. Yes actually, it was (that doesn’t mean it was better than SI though). So, The Ghost is a well made, intelligent thriller that doesn’t rely on speeding cars to thrils, but in the end, it all feels like a bit of a cry for attention from Polanski (Adam Lang is practically under house arrest on the island in the movie, JUST LIKE POLANSKI WAS WHILE MAKING IT! Isn’t he clever!).
I give The Ghost three ghosts out of five.
