I say no more except that the final seconds are also an homage to Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing." You'll see. Not exactly the reaction you'd want to have after a decent two hours preparing. Surprised, we sort of say, okay, I get it, and that's that. At the last minute, a highly improbable final discovery occurs, followed by an even more improbable and shocking last ten seconds. And so, the final ten minutes, at a party, feels like a desperate attempt of the writer, and director, to make all this effort more than just another polished intrigue. In fact, when the memoir gets published it's all a bit anti-climactic. For "The Ghost Writer," Polanski's last film, you keep thinking there will be a real twist, something large and bizarre or just chilling, but it doesn't really happen. There is of course "Rosemary's Baby," which was lifted by a really creepy story. Or would you? If you look at his earliest films you'll find some edgy, almost cruel quality ("Repulsion") but if you see "Chinatown" you'll actually have a parallel to this one-a well made film in a conventional container (that one has an amazing Jack Nicholson to lift it up). You'd never know this was directed by Polanski. Even the direct facts, that this young writer is going to rewrite his predecessor's apparently finished memoir, and then begins with the most basic interviews of the subject, don't shape up. Yes, we have seen the detemined innocent set out to prove the truth. Yes, we know about this shadow government where people are manipulated and assassinated while the news coverage is rose and contrived. The details are different, but the intrigue is the same. It's good, very good, but we have been here before. Of course, this puts him in more danger, and us in more suspense. But we are lulled, too, until events internationally unravel the situation and he discovers some inside information. He's smart but at first so trusting he gets into what is obviously a dubious job, his predecessor having just been killed. He's really terrific at playing someone with savvy but also naiveté. Which brings us back to McGregor, playing a ghost writer for the ex-prime minister's memoirs. Doubly so because his protagonists are all British, making weakly disguised references to Tony Blair (Pierce Brosnan doing a routine job-he really can't act worth beans if an actual emotion is required) and his wife (Olivia Williams, who is absolutely terrific, award material). It's interesting that Polanski wanted to make a film that had to be set here even though it made things difficult. There are a few driving scenes and scenic inserts that were filmed on Cape Cod (in the U.S.) without Polanski's presence. Most of the movie, in fact, was shot in Germany, including Berlin (which was meant to be London), for the simple reason that the director, admitted sex offender Roman Polanski, couldn't travel to the U.S. But in fact the utterly incredible house was built for the movie on a sandy island in northern Germany called Sylt. And the really gorgeous setting, which looks so much like either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket you'd swear it was. So you go into this kind of movie looking for what distinguishes it, like the understated performance by Ewan McGregor. The Ghost Writer (2010) A very conventional political thriller, well done, smartly paced, but a bit drab or slow at times, too.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |