Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Simply Perfect

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Though the movie has suspense till the end,the ending is quite lame. I felt very bad about wasting my time on such a pathetic ending movie.

This is the tenth time I've seen this film so what follows are just a few thoughts I had during this re-watch. The Ghost Writer is simple and minimalist, each line of dialogue is carefully measured and crafted; the whole thing is quite a slow burn but there are several blasts of realization coming in quick succession near the end that make it very worthwhile sitting through the full two hours. The Ghost Writer is not lavish in any aspect- a simple but beautiful set, calculated camera shots, a stark realism with just a hint of theatre. This is probably one of the best modern updates on the noir film. The whole thing has an atmosphere of the 60's noir film, or maybe it's just a bit closer to Polanski's own earlier remaking of the style, Chinatown. My favorite films are, without falter, surrealist, baroque, and flagrant; but for some reason The Ghost Writer stands alone in it's style as one of my all time favourites. Many people will compare it with Polanski's earlier films but to be honest I can't say that I like any other work of his more than this one (though some not quite less). Simple and slow, but there's a lot underneath to discover.

Ewan MacGregor is recruited as memoir ghost writer to the ex-Prime Minister of the UK, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), who will soon be facing a war crimes trial. Ewan's predecessor was mysteriously lost from a ferry to the island in Maine that Adam Lang is holidaying in, in the stormy season.Luckily, Ewan has all of the previous writer's stuff to go through, and it contains many clues to solving the mystery of um... whatever the mystery is. Why the previous guy was killed, I suppose. He also gets the help of a very old Eli Wallach, who puts beyond it reasonable movie-goer doubt that the guy Ewan has taken over from was murdered. Well we kind of gathered that already, but thanks Eli.Pierce Brosnan always gives good baddie, but while Ewan MacGregor is very good at appearing ordinary, he has never managed to make me believe a character, apart from in Trainspotting. If he's supposed to be an alcoholic in this, he's a kind of weekend alcoholic. And while there's mystery in this movie, IE wondering what secrets are being covered up, there's very little suspense, because you have no idea what or who Ewan is supposed to be scared of. Apart from Adam Lang's wife.Terrible, terrible ending, too. It's like they gave up trying to explain anything because the plot is so inconsequential. The ex-Prime Minister's wife was a CIA plant, OK? (Oh! THAT'S why Lang was so pro-US foreign policy!). This message is 'hidden' in the first words of each chapter of the memoir manuscript. And Ewan figures it out, just in time for publication date, shortly afterwards being hit by a car in a neatly directed but letdown final scene.We never know for sure why the first dead ghostwriter thought 'hiding' his revelation in this way had any point whatsoever. And this isn't even a spoiler because it's a plot turn that has no consequences or relation to the conclusion of the story. All you end up with is, "The CIA are very bad". But you knew that already.Undemanding. Silly. Watchable, just, for Pierce Brosnan's class turn, digging at A. Blair, Esq. Spoiled the book (and any Robert Harris in future) for me.

Good, but not great. Intriguing plot, well shot, very well acted. However, the plot often seems contrived, and there are some gaps. Plus in the end you think "So what? This was the big secret?". For all the stylish, clever build-up, the ending is quite underwhelming.Great performances all round. Olivia Williams is miscast though. Not because of her ability to play her part, but we are supposed to believe she is in her mid-to-late 50s! She certainly didn't look it.Decent enough movie, but not worth all the hype.